NEW DELHI: Dreams are meant to come true. With sheer will power and immense determination, focus and hard work, anything is possible. It stands true in the case of Coco Gauff who became the first American teenager to win the country’s major tennis tournament since Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff burst onto the scene at 15 by becoming the youngest qualifier in
Wimbledon
history and making it to the fourth round in her
Grand Slam
debut in 2019. She reached her initial major final at last year’s
French Open
, finishing as the runner-up to
Iga Swiatek
.
As a pro athlete from a young age, as someone of whom greatness has been expected by some and doubted by others, Gauff has always taken it all in and kept moving forward, trying to learn from each setback. And now, at a tournament she used to visit as a kid to see her idols, Serena and Venus Williams, Gauff is a Grand Slam champion herself and a certified star.
Setting aside a so-so start Saturday, Gauff surged to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the soon-to-be-No. 1
Aryna Sabalenka
in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, delighting a raucous crowd that backed her from start to finish.
The official social media handle of
US Open
shared a video of Gauff dancing in the stands as a kid with the caption: “
Coco Gauff
went from being a kid in the stands to a US Open champion. Anything is possible.”
(With agencies inputs)
