Coco Gauff in action during the 2020 Australian Open (Image credit: Getty)
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff claims she “could have played better” after her second round win over Sorana Cirstea in the Australian Open.
Despite her 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback victory, the 15-year old Gauff was critical of her game against the 29-year old Romanian.
She was asked by a reporter if she considered the match as one of her best-ever performances:
“Actually, fighting wise, I think I could have played better today. Normally I feel I take a while to make those decisions when it comes to changing the game strategy-wise and I think I adjusted pretty quickly today.”
Gauff claimed she made good use of her lead in the second half to get back into the game which proved to be a close encounter as the scoreline suggests.
The unseeded youngster, who was leading the first set 3-2 against Cirstea saw herself on the back foot, eventually losing the set to her more experienced opponent.
However, Gauff was quick to react as she made good use of her lead in the second set to build on a tactical switch. That helped her cruise into the next round by overpowering Cirstea.
Gauff had earlier caught the attention after dispelling one of her idols and countrymate, the veteran, Venus Williams 7-6, 6-3 in the first round of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
The American’s biggest ever achievement to date happened in Wimbledon last year.
She raised eyebrows with victories over higher-ranked opponents, however, Gauff lost to eventual champion Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Currently ranked 66th, she is the youngest player ranked in the top 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and will face defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round.
The World No.4 and third-seeded Osaka, meanwhile, recorded an easy 6-2, 6-4 win against Chinese Zheng Saisai in the last round to set up the clash with Gauff.
