Coco Gauff Impresses Her Dad With Poise

Do not get the wrong idea about Coco Gauff and assume that, just because she’s already displayed so much talent and promise by age 17, occasions such as Thursday’s (Friday in Manila), when she played a woman twice her age at Centre Court, are in any way glossed over as “been there, done that.”

This is, after all, the most famous arena in tennis. This is, after all, Wimbledon. And Gauff is, after all, still relatively new to a lot of this: she began the week having played a total of two grass-court events and seven Grand Slam tournaments, one of which, of course,

was her captivating run to the fourth round at the All England Club as a 15-year-old qualifier two years ago. So, yes, there was some shakiness early against Elena Vesnina, a 34-year-old Russian who said afterward, “I saw she was nervous.” Gauff acknowledged so afterward. So maybe that’s why she was the first to face break points.

Or managed merely one groundstroke winner in the opening set. Still, the newcomer did what veterans do – find a way – and emerged with a 6-4, 6-3 victory to return to Wimbledon’s third round.

“With a little bit of adversity for the first time, she went for her shots and she stayed committed to the serve,” said Gauff’s father, Corey. “So, I was impressed with that – her poise.” That matters at this level and on these stages, where one bad afternoon can send someone home.