Cori "Coco" Gauff is coming for that “greatest athlete of all time” title.
The 15-year-old tennis star defeated her “idol” Venus Williams in Monday's opening round of the Australian Open 7-6 (5), 6-3. This marks their second match up, the first being at last year’s Wimbledon, where Gauff also won.
"I definitely was more confident this time," Gauff told ESPN following her victory. A mere six months ago, Guaff was a relatively unknown Grand Slam rookie. Now she’s on a mission “to be the greatest.”
“My mission is to be the greatest,” Gauff told The New York Times. “That’s my goal, to win as many Grand Slams as possible. But for today, my mission was to win.”
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Winning as many Grand Slams as possible means Gauff will have to best record holder Serena Williams, whom she’s yet to play at this event. Williams has won the most Grand Slam titles of all time during her career, with a total of 23 Grand Slam tournament victories and has made it clear that she wants to win another at the Australian Open.
Fortunately, Williams thinks Gauff is more than capable of being a champ, declaring that she’s a “big fan” of hers.
"I think there are some 15-year-olds, like me, who wouldn't know what to do at Wimbledon," Williams said back in 2019. "Then you have a 15-year-old like Coco who knows what to do. I think she's definitely on a different level."
Oh, to be in the stands when this match finally does happen.