Cori Gauff (2004-) - 15-Year-Old American Tennis Sensation

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Steve R. said:

Listening to  JMac hold forth to ARod during Jokovic’s 1st round Wimbledon match.  He just spent 10 minutes explaining why Felix is the great upcoming player of this generation & why, 5 years from now, we’ll be debating if he’s one of the greatest ever.  He went on & on effusively about how good Felix is & gave Denis some props, but with reservations about his lack of height.  I just had to hunt down this thread.

And on the women's side, there's Cori Gauff, who was one-year old when this website was founded. 

[Steve R.]

Wow, but did it have to be at Venus’s expense?  Great ending.  And just the 1st round.

[DonRocks]

2 hours ago, Steve R. said:

Wow, but did it have to be at Venus’s expense?  Great ending.  And just the 1st round.

Goodness, I didn't know this when I made the previous post (I'm not sure what time the match was, but having seen what I've seen, this young lady is for real). It needs to be emphasized that Venus Williams is now 39-years old, and tennis is becoming a young-person's game (despite The Big Three on the men's side) - if anyone thinks otherwise, consider that Gauff has been playing tennis for only eight years.

"Cori Gauff, 15, Stuns Venus Williams with Commanding Performance at Wimbledon" by Ben Coles on telegraph.co.uk

[zgast]

On 7/1/2019 at 4:35 PM, DonRocks said:

"Cori Gauff, 15, Stuns Venus Williams with Commanding Performance at Wimbledon" by Ben Coles on telegraph.co.uk

I got to watch the second set at the gym in my office and Cori Gauff was amazing.  Still young - you never know - but can't wait to see what else she can do.

[DonRocks]

4 hours ago, zgast said:

I got to watch the second set at the gym in my office and Cori Gauff was amazing.  Still young - you never know - but can't wait to see what else she can do.

Have you heard her speak? This young lady has a very mature, seemingly well-grounded head on her shoulders - very impressive.

We can quibble about The Williams Sisters' antics (mostly Serena, but Venus was really self-centered when she was younger), but they are undeniably trailblazers and role models, especially for young girls of color.

Let's also not forger the ultimate role model in this regard: the great Althea Gibson.

[zgast]

5 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Have you heard her speak? This young lady has a very mature, seemingly well-grounded head on her shoulders - very impressive.

Nope - unfortunately my too short workout needed to end - work beckoned.

[DonRocks]

[zgast]

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

Did she not get to anything out there today?  It's like the Energizer Bunny developed a wicked backhand all of a sudden.

[Keithstg]

Enjoying the Gauff/ Hercog match for the competition, but honestly can’t remember a lesser quality of play in the third round of a grand slam.

ETA: what an impressive young woman. Really appreciated her signing autographs, engaging with fans etc. after the match.

[DonRocks]

7 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Enjoying the Gauff/ Hercog match for the competition, but honestly can’t remember a lesser quality of play in the third round of a grand slam.

Why do you say this? I thought it was a riveting match, with both players having a *lot* to lose - big, big forehands, and wicked, slice backhands.

As much as I love Gauff, I was pulling equally for Polona Hercog, who had never before reached the Round of 16 in a Major. Yes, Hercog is probably a millionaire, but Gauff's superstardom is a given; Hercog's not so much - Hercog was also the essence of sportsmanship.

Hercog's slice backhand was amazing, but Gauff wised up and began to match her, slice-for-slice - Gauff grew two years in this one match, surviving two match points. 

I suspect if she stays healthy, Hercog will do very well in both the upcoming U.S. Open and the Australian Open.

[Keithstg]

33 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Why do you say this? I thought it was a riveting match, with both players having a *lot* to lose - big, big forehands, and wicked, slice backhands.

Both players had a lot to lose by definition - it’s a grand slam.

The match was riveting, but poorly played.

Simple chip forehand returns went unchallenged. Long backhand slice to backhand slice rallies where balls floated as if a 3.5 hit them (nothing wicked at all), and a general fear of taking an angle or coming to net, though that was Hercog.

And then there were the slice forehands from both, which were the same quality you’d see in a good high school or college match. Not approach shots, mind you, but generic floating slices.

Hercog has a good forehand and a serve, but that’s pretty much it.

Gauff played very tight, which is to be expected. She has a bright future, but Halep would have dismantled both of them, and will dismantle Gauff on Monday if she plays like she did today.

[DonRocks]

51 minutes ago, Keithstg said:

Hercog has a good forehand and a serve, but that’s pretty much it.

As opposed to Steffi Graf, who had ... ?

Seriously, as an example, Hercog chips a backhand deep into Gauff's backhand corner. Gauff should do what with it, as opposed to chipping it back into Hercog's backhand corner?

It isn't as thought Gauff doesn't have a rip-roaring topspin backhand, but where do you hit it, and at what cost?

Djokovic could rip a two-handed topspin backhand down the line off one of these, sending the opponent on a dead sprint, but that's Djokovic.

[Keithstg]

12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

As opposed to Steffi Graf, who had ... ?

Seriously, as an example, Hercog chips a backhand deep into Gauff's backhand corner. Gauff should do what with it, as opposed to chipping it back into Hercog's backhand corner?

It isn't as thought Gauff doesn't have a rip-roaring topspin backhand, but where do you hit it, and at what cost?

Djokovic could rip a two-handed topspin backhand down the line off one of these, sending the opponent on a dead sprint, but that's Djokovic.

377 weeks at no 1 and 8 Wimbledon titles (7 singles, 1 doubles), for a start...

The issue for me was that Hercog wasn’t getting backhands sliced deep into the corners - at least not consistently. The vast majority of ground strokes were bouncing within a foot of the service line. Gauff could have hit an approach, or rolled over a two handed backhand into the opposite corner, pushing Hercog back. She did neither, so instead we saw back and forth chips for 30 shots in a row.

Again, the match was riveting, but if anyone came away thinking that was high level tennis they saw a vastly different match than I did.

[DonRocks]

7 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Again, the match was riveting, but if anyone came away thinking that was high level tennis they saw a vastly different match than I did.

Early in the second set, I mentioned to my friend that Hercog was soft-balling her, and that it was a brilliant strategy - but my takeaway is that Gauff didn't overhit; she started junking Hercog right back. That's a great sign of maturity from such a young kid (I've lost many a match to pushers who baited me into overhitting, and it's infuriating - it took a lot of growing up for me to get out of that stage).

[Keithstg]

23 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

 but my takeaway is that Gauff didn't overhit; she started junking Hercog right back. That's a great sign of maturity from such a young kid (I've lost many a match to pushers who baited me into overhitting, and it's infuriating - it took a lot of growing up for me to get out of that stage).

Me too. Being called a “pusher” was one of the highest insults you could face back in the day. Wonder if that’s still the case?

A brilliant strategy would have been to either drop Hercog and draw her into net, where she was visibly uncomfortable, or loop forehand or backhands deep (not overhitting) and coming in behind a few of them. Instead they played like 3.0s do.

I played my weekly doubles round robin this am. It’s a rotating group but this week included two D-1 singles players, two open level players (one 40 and one 50ish), two club pros, me and a buddy. The unanimous consensus was that the match was poorly played.

the two d-1 guys were most generous in their commentary, but literally laughed when asked how they would have done against either player. Both did feel (as do I) that Gauff will be a star.

[DIShGo]

23 hours ago, Keithstg said:

ETA: what an impressive young woman. Really appreciated her signing autographs, engaging with fans etc. after the match.

Yes, I enjoyed her interaction with the fans after the match. Impressive young woman, indeed.

[DonRocks]

29 minutes ago, Keithstg said:

It’s a rotating group but this week included two D-1 singles players, two open level players (one 40 and one 50ish)

What are these four people's names?

The quality of tennis in the past twenty years has become absurd, at all levels. The #1 singles player at my son's high school (four-years ago) would have been Maryland State high school champion back when I played (ETA - although even by today's standards, he's quite good).

[Keithstg]

On 7/5/2019 at 10:53 PM, Keithstg said:

Gauff played very tight, which is to be expected. She has a bright future, but Halep would have dismantled both of them, and will dismantle Gauff on Monday if she plays like she did today.

As I was saying...

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/27147192/halep-halts-gauff-wimbledon-run-4th-round

There are levels to this - but absolutely no shame in not being ready for the top level at 15! Coco performed so well and has a ton to be proud of.

 

[Steve R.]

And she’s out, dominated by Halep (in my opinion).  It’s nice that the announcers fauned over her first set, continuously stating that Halep only won 6 more points than Gauff.  To me, that was a meaningless stat if ever I heard one.  I hope her people are brighter than to tell her that her comeback win in the previous round (a great match to watch, but, as has been said, not great pro tennis) & this one were where she needs to be going.  She looks like she can be a great player with her focus, speed & determination.  But, coming under the ball over and over, waiting for an advantage or mistake, does not seem to be the future of women’s tennis.  Unless your goal is to be Italian & beat Serena in one US Open semi that is.

Don: I assume you know that none of those 4 players was me.  I was in Brooklyn, playing at my new “high 4.0” doubles level (solid 4.5 seems to now be in the rear view mirror).

[DonRocks]

Curious what everyone thinks about the level of tennis in the Strycova-Konta match today.

[Keithstg]

13 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Curious what everyone thinks about the level of tennis in the Strycova-Konta match today.

Didn't see it, but will take a look.

[Steve R.]

I’m kinda bummed at Gauff getting a wild card into the Open.  Sure, she deserved it, but now I didnt get to see her in the Quals today.  Guess I’ll just have to hope that her 1st round match gets scheduled for Monday, when we have tickets.

[Steve R.]

Nope.  I have tickets for Monday & Wednesday, so of course they scheduled her first round match for Tuesday.  And, just to piss me off even more, they schedule Felix to play Denis in the first round - on Tuesday, of course.