Australian Open: Coco Gauff eyes Olympics as Sofia Kenin marches on

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff has turned her attention to qualifying for the Olympics following her Australian Open exit.

An emotional Coco Gauff walks off the court after a three-set loss to fellow American Sofia Kenin at the Australian Open. Picture: AFP

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff leaves Melbourne content with an exciting Australian Open debut and aiming to earn a spot on the US Olympic team this year.

The run of 15-year-old Gauff came to an end when she was beaten 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 by Sofia Kenin, an American who is vastly experienced by contrast, yet only 21 years old herself.

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Gauff, who defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round in Melbourne, said she had learnt a significant amount about herself in her third appearance at a major event.

“I’m definitely going to savour this and continue to kind of build and get better to work for moments like this, moments like that last match,” she said.

“Even today, even though I lost, I still had a lot of fun. I mean, now looking back, I’m not as disappointed anymore.”

The competition for a spot on the American team for Tokyo is particularly hot given the tremendous depth in the United States in the women’s ranks.

But Gauff, who will jump to a ranking just outside the top 50 after her deeds in Melbourne, has her eyes on Japan.

“Hopefully I can get my ranking up and qualify. I’m sure the cut-off is French Open,” she said.

“It will be difficult. But I’m going to try as hard as possible. I definitely do want to play the Olympics. It would be pretty cool.”

Kenin, who was born in Russia but is based in Florida, paid tribute to her younger rival.

“It was such a tough match. She is such a tremendous player. All respect to her … but I am so pleased to be through to the next round,” she said.

Sofia Kenin celebrates her three-set win over Coco Guaff at Melbourne Arena. Picture: Michael Klein

The progression of Kenin may seem a surprise to some given the hype surrounding Gauff, who has enjoyed a stunning rise to prominence over the past seven months. But an assessment of the credentials of Kenin makes clear just how formidable a task Gauff faced.

The 14th seed demonstrated on the WTA Tour last year that she was a player likely to emerge as a genuine contender at major level.

She claimed three titles in a strong season that began when she won her maiden title in Hobart and also included triumphs in Mallorca and Guangzhou.

Aside from those successes, she reached a final in Acapulco and defeated Ash Barty and Osaka in successive events to reach the semi-finals of tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

She also reached the last 16 at Roland Garros, where she took a set off the eventual champion Barty.

Kenin is a player of real quality and has now reached the quarter-finals of a major for the first time. She said the key to getting on top of Gauff was to accept the young star would produce moments of magic.

“Just fighting. The first set she played some really good points at crucial moments. I needed to calm down, relax and just fight,” she said.

“I am so speechless. I am so happy. I want to thank everyone on my team. I am so happy to come through.”

After slipping behind an early break, Gauff was able to fight back and carry the momentum through the opening set tie-breaker.

But the advantage began to dissipate quickly in the second set as the consistency of Kenin came to the fore.

The disparity in the unforced error count told the story.

The teenager’s tally more than doubled that of Kenin, 48 unforced errors to 22, which effectively proved the tale of the tape.

And this was because of the soundness of Kenin’s defence and quality of her ball striking. So well does the 21-year-old move, it must have felt to the younger American that the only way she could punch a hole in her rival’s defence was to hit it harder and closer to the lines.

This instead proved to be her downfall as Kenin raised her game.

Kenin will play Ons Jabeur, a Tunisian trailblazer who defeated Qiang Wang 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to become the first Arab to reach the quarter-finals at a major.

The Chinese hopeful, who defeated Serena Williams in the third round, faded after a testing first set and was troubled by the creativity of her rival.