Coco Magic is Back! The 18 Year Old American Is Into Her First Ever Grand Slam Final
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Remember Coco Gauff? She burst onto the scene at the 2019 Wimbledon as just a 15 year old where she made a magical run to the quarterfinals. The chain reaction to that success was dealing with insane expectations moving forward. People expected her to constantly be in contention for slams and that can't be easy to deal with before you even get a drivers license.
I don't want to make it seem like Coco fell off the map after that 2019 Wimbledon. She's cracked the top 20, won two titles, and made steady progress on all surfaces. She's very legit, but things are really clicking now though.
She's ripped through this French Open draw having not dropped a set to anyone. It's happening again, but this time it feels like she belongs rather than the surprise newcomer. Coco is up to 13th in the world and is here to stay. Were the early Serena comparisons too much? Definitely, but here she is becoming the youngest slam finalist since Sharapova 2004. I mean for Christ's sake she graduated from high school just a few weeks ago.
So who does she face in the final? Oh nobody special, only the world no. 1 who just won her 34th consecutive match, Iga Swiatek. That ties Serena Williams career best mark. With a win on Saturday she'll tie Venus' career best streak. Since taking over number one in the world from Barty, Iga has claimed the sport for her own. She's incredible to watch, but so is Coco. Hopefully this one is somewhat competitive.
To say this will be a tough challenge for Coco is an understatement. Iga opened up as a -625 favorite which is certainly a big number, although nothing like what she's been to her previous opponents. I don't know if there's anyone capable of beating Iga right now, but hey that's why they play the games right? Either way it's an extremely like-able final and I'll sign up for that every time. Give her hell Coco.