Cori Gauff in Linz - return to normality
After the exciting weeks of tennis summer 2019, 15-year-old American Cori Gauff also found one thing at the WTA tournament in Linz: rest a bit.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Oct 08, 2019, 03:32 pm
Vpn Jörg Allmeroth from Linz
When Cori Gauff strolled through the streets of Linz at the beginning of the week, she naturally noticed it. Namely, that it was not noticed. That she remained undetected. That nobody asked her for an autograph or wanted a selfie from her. "It was pretty quiet," says the 15-year-old American, who was one of the defining faces and one of the greatest climbers of this tennis season, "and I have to say: this calm was nice."
There were also completely different times, completely different moments this year for Gauff, the newest child prodigy in the industry. Wimbledon for example. The tournament of tournaments, in which she catapulted herself into the global consciousness of the tennis community with three dramatic peloton victories and suddenly seemed as big as the big names in the scene, like Federer or Serena Williams. "I enjoyed it, but it also became very tiring," says Gauff, "when you win, you don't think about a lot." Not even about the efforts that sudden fame and fame trigger. Number 313 in the ranking when she arrived in Wimbledon was still a qualifier. When she left, she felt like she was in the top ten. And could hardly walk a few steps outside the door without being recognized.
Serena Williams´ career end is in sight
Gauff has just become a savior for the tennis scene in America, not least because the end of Serena Williams' outstanding career is emerging. Everything was very visible at the US Open, the euphoria surrounding the 15-year-old teenage girl took on crazy forms. "Cocomania", the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" rightly diagnosed, it went so far that double matches with Gauff suddenly became more interesting than single matches by Williams or Federer. "Four times higher ratings" than with the traditional superstars, the US networks had achieved with Gauff, TV chat bag John McEnroe recently said again.
A few weeks later, in autumn in Europe, the sensational actress of this summer is allowing the 2019 series to swing out more calmly. Linz and Luxembourg, their two venues - they also mean a return to a certain normalcy. Because Gauff can no longer claim wild cards due to age restrictions, she has to go through the qualification competitions. There are no special rights. In the struggles of everyday life, at the end of a stressful season, Gauff is no different than many other, mostly experienced colleagues. It is difficult to show unconditional motivation and combative effort in every rally. A few tears of disappointment initially flowed 4: 6 and 2: 6 when the teenager failed on Monday in the final qualification round at Hamburg's Tamara Korpatsch. But maybe it was the luck of the hardworking that she ended up in the main field the next day as Lucky Loser after the Greek Maria Sakkari's cancellation. “It's difficult overall, mentally and physically, at this time of the season,” says Gauff. These are statements that you can hear from almost every player these weeks. On the home stretch of the tennis year.
Cori Gauff is ahead of her time
The season was a “breakthrough,” says Gauff, “I've come a long way. Much further than I would have dared to dream. ”Whoever talks to Gauff can hardly believe that she is just 15 years old. She appears more mature, clarified, more experienced than others from her "Next Generation." The Swiss Belinda Bencic, also a player who was confronted with high expectations and a certain media hype early on ("The second Miss Swiss"), says Gauff is " way ahead of its time ”.
Gauff will be able to play more tournaments in 2020. She feels ready for it, also because she meets the high expectations in America and in the rest of the tennis world with a certain serenity: “I have to go the way up calmly. Step by step, "says Gauff," it's nice that many believe in me. But that's not why I'm going to go crazy. ”In Linz Gauff is still playing in doubles, after that the competition in Luxembourg. Then the season is over. A season that was also co-determined in a few memorable moments by the miraculous girl from Florida.