Former Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport has tipped Coco Gauff to achieve ‘greatness’ following the 15-year-old’s sensational victory over Venus Williams at Wimbledon.
Gauff defeated the five-time women’s singles champion in straight sets in the first round, in a tournament that has already produced a number of surprises.
Getty Images – Getty
But the teenager’s triumph was the one that made the headlines and she will face Slovakian player Magdalena Rybarikova in the second round on Wednesday.
Three-time men’s singles champion at SW19 John McEnroe believes Gauff should be aiming to become world No.1 by the time she turns 20.
And Davenport, who won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1999, also believes this is an attainable target.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Davenport said: “Greatness can happen in the teenage years. It hasn’t happened as much lately because they restrict the tournaments they play, I’m not a huge fan of that.
Getty Images – Getty
“She’s great, she can handle the occasion and I think that [being world No.1 aged 20] is definitely an achievable goal. You have to keep her on the right path, keep her happy, training, improving and healthy.
“You don’t really know how a 15-year-old is going to handle that occasion, that kind of pressure and that kind of court but you could see she’s just a champion.
“Not only with her game but her mental fortitude, her confidence, her composure, all that was so impressive.
“To see her beat one of her idols in that kind or arena and without that much grass court experience, it was pretty awesome. She’s going to be a champion and we’ve just had a good glimpse of it at just 15 years of age.”
LATEST SPORT NEWS
However, Gauff is not the only young American coming through the ranks with Amanda Anisimova and Caty McNally, both 17, also making it into the women’s singles draw at Wimbledon 2019.
And Davenport believes that if Gauff, Anisimova and McNally can continue to perform well then they’ll push each other at the highest level for many years to come.
Davenport continued: “We always keep an eye on the juniors coming through and a couple of years ago I was made aware there was a good pack coming through for around about now.
Getty Images – Getty
“Amanda Anisimova is also coming through as is Caty McNally. All these players came through the juniors together. Coco is a couple of years younger but they’ve competed against each other.
“This group could become the next big group if they continue to push each other.
Tim Henman and Lindsay Davenport are ambassadors for HSBC, who are supporters of Wimbledon and the Ticket Resale Scheme. More info can be found here.
Source: TalkSport.com Tennis
