Her endless summer had an end, after all.
Cori Gauff, the composed-beyond-her-years super teen we’ve come to know, simply, as ‘Coco,’ only 15 but already inking shoe deals, hording Instagram followers, walloping 116-mph serves and shouldering outsized expectations, saw her dream run come to a close on Saturday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Gauff, the daughter of a gymnast and a basketball player, granddaughter to a onetime Appalachian League ballplayer, could write one heck of a "What-I-did-on-my-summer-vacation" essay. In July, she became the youngest player in the Open era to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon. She then proceeded to out-hit role model Venus Williams and go on to reach the Round of 16—the youngest player to do so on the lawns of the All England Club since a kid named Capriati back in ’91.
The Brits ate it up. We did, too, on TV sets and smart phones on the other side of the Atlantic.
She reminded us of our first glimpse of those Compton groundbreakers, Venus and Serena, and of a time when it wasn’t uncommon to see ponytailed teens, like Tracy Austin, and freckled court-divers, like Boris Becker, compete for big trophies.
By the time she arrived in the borough of Queens, tennis fans had gleefully embraced Coco Fever, this promising young newcomer as big a draw on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as the Big Three of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic. The wild card’s opening-round matchup with another teen phenom, Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, drew a partisan crowd to Louis Armstrong Stadium. After her 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback, Gauff would tell the press: “It was crazy. It's such a big court.” She returned to Armstrong two nights later, again pulling through in three sets to defeat Hungary’s Timea Babos, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
“The first round was the first time I actually had a chant, but today it was a lot louder and a little more consistent. I was thinking maybe they feel like I'm Golden State in Game 7 or something.”
It couldn’t have been easy to handle her nerves when she took the court against the defending champ Naomi Osaka, a rapt crowd of 23,711 looking on. Though the scoreline doesn’t show it (6-3, 6-0), Gauff acquitted herself quite well, giving New Yorkers, and those watching in Tampa, in Tokyo, a glimpse of things to come.
“She’s only going to get better,” one fan thought aloud. “Imagine how good she’ll be when she’s 20.”
There were tears afterward, as often happens in this stadium, the biggest in the sport. Five-time titlist Pete Sampras openly wept upon announcing his retirement here back in 2003; his nemesis, Andre Agassi, shed a few of his own when addressing fans after the final match of his career. Osaka, of course, experienced a full range of emotions last year after winning the US Open, her first career Grand Slam.
Perhaps that’s why the sensitive, soft-spoken world No. 1 was quick to embrace Gauff after the match. If anyone could understand what big-stage moments like this can do to a professional athlete, it was her. Usually only the victor remains on the court, sharing their post-match thoughts with the world. The vanquished, meanwhile, makes that awkward walk to the locker room, a quick wave to the crowd as they depart.
This time, Osaka strayed from the script and urged her opponent to stick around.
“It was kind of instinctive,” said the 21-year-old, having moved back in the Round of 16 for the second year in a row.
“When I shook her hand, I saw that she was kind of tearing up a little. Then it reminded me how young she was… I was just thinking it would be nice for her to address the people that came and watched her play. They were cheering for her.”
It was a poignant moment, one that won’t soon be forgotten
“She just proved that she's a true athlete,” Gauff reflected afterward. “For me, the definition of an athlete is someone who on the court treats you like your worst enemy, but off the court can be your best friend. I think that's what she did tonight.”
“I definitely was wanting to leave the court because I'm not the type of person who wants to cry in front of everyone,” she continued. “I didn't want to take that moment away from her, as well. She told me it's better than crying in the shower. She convinced me, multiple times, to stay. I kept saying, ‘No.’ Finally, I said, ‘OK, I'll do it’ because I didn't know what to do. I'm happy that she kind of convinced me to do it because I'm not used to crying in front of everyone.”
“I just thought about what I wanted her to feel leaving the court,” Osaka explained. “I wanted her to have her head high, not walk off the court sad. I want her to be aware that she's accomplished so much and she's still so young.”
Whether or not Gauff wins a living room full of Grand Slam trophies, as so many believe she one day will, she’s treated us to a summer of surprises, when a 15-year-old girl proved she could play with the very best in the world. Thanks to Naomi Osaka, we had a chance to return the favor.
“I think she really showed sportsmanship tonight,” said Gauff. “I wasn't expecting it. I'm glad that I was able to experience that moment. I'm glad the crowd was kind of helping me and her. She was crying, she won. I was crying. Everybody was crying.”
