American teenage
sensation Coco Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years
as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz Open final
on Sunday.
The 15-year-old Gauff,
who started the season ranked well outside the world’s top 600, beat Latvia’s
Ostapenko 6-3 1-6 6-2 in a topsy-turvy contest.
She becomes the
youngest WTA singles title holder since Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic
claimed her maiden crown in Tashkent at the age of 15 in 2004.
Gauff raced to a 5-0
lead in the final set before Ostapenko rediscovered her rhythm to save two
match points and hold on for 5-1.
Ostapenko went on to
break Gauff at love to make it 5-2 but the American held her nerve to seal victory
on her third match point.
It concludes a remarkable
week for Gauff, who went from failing to win her qualifier to entering the main
draw as a lucky loser.
Gauff made her
opportunity count by beating Stefanie Vogele, Kateryna Kozlova, top seed Kiki
Bertens and Andrea Petkovic to reach the final.
“I’m still overwhelmed
and shocked,” Gauff told reporters. “I guess it’s crazy to say it’s my first
WTA title.
Gauff, whose
popularity soared at Wimbledon when she beat Venus Williams on her way to the
fourth round, is projected to move inside the top 75 in the WTA rankings on
Monday.
