Australian Open: Coco Gauff adds Naomi Osaka to her grand slam victims

On a day American legend Serena Williams exited the Australian Open, Coco Gauff knocked out defending champion Naomi Osaka.

Coco Gauff celebrates beating Naomi Osaka in straight sets. Picture: Michael Klein.

On a day American legend Serena Williams exited the Australian Open, a teenager tipped for greatness in Coco Gauff caused another stunning surprise in Melbourne.

The prodigy performed with poise and pizzazz belying her age to oust defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka in the second major upset of the third round.

In her first outing on Rod Laver Arena, Gauff progressed 6-3 6-4 in 1hr 7min. Afterwards, Gauff said she had walked past Laver but was too shy to approach him for a photo.

That may change now, for the entire tennis world is very much aware of Gauff and her status as an emerging star of the sport.

“Oh my gosh. I don’t even know,” Gauff said.

“What is my life? Oh my gosh. Two years ago, I lost in the first round of juniors. Now I am here. This is crazy.”

Osaka had been installed as Australian Open favourite after Williams was stunned by Qiang Wang earlier on Friday but lasted only until the evening.

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Their exit leaves world No 1 Ash Barty, who is seeking to become the first local since Chris O’Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open, as the tournament favourite.

The emergence of Gauff over the past seven months is truly astonishing, regardless of the remarkable talent she displayed in junior ranks.

The 15-year-old is not old enough to drive a car. Nor is she yet allowed to compete a full schedule on the WTA Tour due to age restrictions wisely installed to prevent burnout.

Gauff, who is studying school remotely, has been granted an extension on some assignments by her teachers back in Florida due to some extenuating circumstances. Namely her bid for grand slam glory.

Yet in three grand slam appearances, she has reached the last 16 at Wimbledon, the third round of the US Open and now the fourth round in Australia.

And as her outstanding defeat of Osaka on Friday night demonstrated, she is an especially quick learner.

When they met in the third round of the US Open in September, Gauff was completely overwhelmed by the occasion of playing the defending champion on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After being beaten 6-3 6-0, she was in tears and the Japanese star showed great empathy in walking around the net to console her.

Grauff returned the favour by ending Osaka’s Australian Open defence. Osaka did not help herself in an error-riddled performance, with her level well below her peak.

But Gauff showed tremendous composure to match the many weapons at her disposal and was able to close out the victory without a hint of doubt.

“Honestly, I was just telling myself one point at a time and keep fighting, because you never know what will happen on a tennis court,” she said.