American teenage tennis star Coco Gauff adds Johanna Konta, who was one of the last year’s semi-finalists, to her list of victims as she sends the No 9 seed packing out of the French Open.
The 16-year-old ensured a flawless main draw debut at each of the four majors on Monday on the court that crowned her a junior champion.
The impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Konta ensured she joins the growing victim list which includes Naomi Osaka and even Venus Williams, twice.
Watch the match highlights below
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Konta’s defeat, however, left the Brits reeling following the departure too on Sunday of Andy Murray and Dan Evans.
While disappointed not to have passed the second round at any of the three majors in 2020, Konta said she was not overawed facing an opponent so young.
“I’m playing against another professional who is doing very well and who is obviously playing very good tennis,” Konta says. “It doesn’t really matter how old she is.
“I think the age and those things, I think that’s a factor for you guys and for public interest and for sponsors and for things like that. But as a fellow competitor, that’s got nothing to do with us competing out on court.”
Gauff admitted it took a little pep talk from her dad, Corey, to calm her nerves before she began the match and while warming up before she stepped on the court.
“He was just telling me, like, ‘You’re living your dream, so just enjoy and have fun’,” Gauff says. “His goal was to become an NBA player, and he didn’t make it. He told me, ‘You’re living your dream, not everybody gets to do that, just have fun on the court‘.
“That really changed my perspective. I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down. I realised it’s just a tennis match. I’m doing some things that people wish they could do. Just go out there and enjoy it.”
Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens sail through
Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens (former French Open semi-finalists) had to earn qualification into the next round in France through hard work.
Kvitova overcame Oceane Dodin, 6-3, 7-5, while Bertens needed three sets against Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska to record her first match-win in seven months.
The 118th-ranked Dodin pushed the No. 11 seed for 77 minutes in a highly-entertaining match full of great rallies, which Kvitova eventually won, 6-3, 7-5.
Kvitova says in an on-court interview: “We never played each other, not even in a practice. So it was really tough from the beginning.”
The fifth-seeded Bertens also overcame a stern test to beat Zavatska, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in a match delayed by rain on the Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
“It was really tough, she started really well, I was rushing a bit,” says Bertens on court after the match.
“It’s really tough to play aggressive here and to hit winners. In the second and third sets, I was much more patient.”
Ranked 112th in the world, the 20-year-old Zavatska impressed in the first set before Bertens found her groove early on in the second and started to overwhelm her opponent with a combination of heavy topspin, power, and deft drop shots.
Bertens’ faces another tough opponent in the next round – 2012 finalist Sara Errani.
COCO GAUFF!!! A superstar! Rooting for her.