American teenager Cori "Coco" Gauff knocked off compatriot Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the first round at Wimbledon.
"She said congratulations. I told her thank you for everything that you did. I wouldn't be here without you. I always wanted to tell her that," the 15-year-old Gauff said after the match on Monday, reports Efe news.
The world number 301, the youngest player ever to qualify for Wimbledon in the Open Era, took out a player who is 24 years her senior, setting a record for the match with the biggest age difference between opponents at the grass-court event.
Made for the big stage ?@CocoGauff becomes the youngest player since 1991 to win in the first round of the ladies' singles, beating Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hfgcQGdZtq
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2019
Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, appeared to be getting back into the match at 4-4 in the second set, but Gauff did not falter and continued to put the pressure on.
With this victory, Gauff, who had just 31 professional matches under her belt heading into Wimbledon, will move up to world No. 215 in the WTA rankings.
Up next for Gauff is Slovak veteran Magdalena Rybarikova, who took out No.10 seed Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, 6-2, 6-4 earlier in the day.
--IANS
