America's teenage sensation and Wimbledon revelation Cori 'Coco' Gauff hit the end of the road at the ongoing Wimbledon after a 3-6, 3-6 straight sets defeat to former world number 1 Romania's Simona Halep in the round of -16. The 15-year-old became an instant fan favourite when she defeated 5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the round-of-128 in her senior grand slam debut, she then backed her comment of coming to the all England club to win with action with a swift victory over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova. It seemed like her run would end in the round-of-32 after going a set down against Slovenia's Polona Hercog, but she fought back to win it in 3 sets.
Coco was aiming to become the youngest women player to play in the quarterfinals at the All England Club since compatriot Jennifer Capriati made the semifinals in 1991, however, 7th seed Simona Halep proved a nut too tough to crack. Playing under the watchful eyes of the capacity crowd at the Center Court 1, Coco couldn't replicate the calm, cool composure she had shown in her previous 3 matches, She saw her serve immediately broken in the 1st game and could have gone a break up later in the game after Halep had double-faulted twice in succession but she thwarted 2 break points afterwards. She looked out of sorts against 27-year-old Halep and it couldn't get more difficult with an upset stomach during the encounter. She eventually lost 3-6, 3-6 to Halep, much to the disappointment but the ever cheering crowd who were rooting for another Gauff's upset.
Cori 'Coco' Gauff's fairytale run to the Wimbledon round-of-16 started against 39-year-old 5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. Coco was expected to lose to the 7-time grand slam champion but she stunned tennis world with a remarkable 6-4, 6-4 victory over her childhood idol Venus in the 1st round. Coco wasn't done yet, she followed it up as she made light of 30-year-old Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova with a stunning 6-3, 6-3 2nd-round victory. Rybarikova had upset 10th seed Belarus Aryna Sabelenka in her 1st round draw but she was no match to fan favourites Coco Gauff. Coco would then show her resolve and resilience in the 3rd round, the round-of-32 draw paired her with 28-year-old Slovenian Polona Hercog. Hercog gave Coco a run for her money as she forced Coco to drop her 1st set of the championship, Coco lost the set 3-6 and was 2-5 down in the 2nd set. On the verge of losing, Coco fought back and saved 2 match points to force the set into a tie-breaker which she eventually won 7-6(9-7), she then won the deciding set 7-5 to set up the round-of-16 draw/stage with Simona Halep.
Cori' Coco' Gauff maybe out of the All England Club championship, but she had left a marker on the biggest stage of her career, the future definitely holds plenty for the American teenager and it will be naive to think that this will be the last we'll hear off Coco. The sky's the limit for her say her idol, Venus Williams.
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