Coco Gauff Enters Australian Open as Teen Grand Slam Champion

Coco Gauff of the United States reacts during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Coco Gauff of the United States reacts during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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Coco Gauff Enters Australian Open as Teen Grand Slam Champion

Coco Gauff of the United States reacts during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Coco Gauff of the United States reacts during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Now that the pressure to win a Grand Slam singles title as a teenager is over, Coco Gauff feels liberated enough to discuss her next target: a career tally in double digits.
Could be 10, 11 or more ... no limits. Plus, an Olympic medal in Paris this year. Preferably gold, but silver or bronze would do — in singles, doubles or mixed.
She’s entering the Australian Open as a reigning Grand Slam champion, new territory for the 19-year-old American. Had she not fulfilled those expectations at last year's US Open, this would have been her last shot at being a teenage major winner, The Associated Press reported.
Gauff, who turns 20 in March, believes she can play with more freedom now in pursuit of a second major title as the No. 4 seeded player at Melbourne Park.
The tournament starts Sunday, a day earlier than usual.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, aiming for a recording-extending 11th Australian title and 25th overall, announced ahead of the schedule's release that he'd be playing Sunday night — the first of three first-round night sessions.
Gauff's first-round match is against Anna Karolina Schmeiedlova, a 29-year-old from Slovakia who has only been past the third round once in 35 majors.
Having rebounded from a shocking first-round exit at Wimbledon to winning a breakthrough major title at the very next major in New York has helped with a shift in mindset.
“I think I put too much pressure on winning a Slam. I think I was feeling like I have to do it,” Gauff said. "When I went on the scene at 15, I felt like I had to win a Slam as a teenager because that’s what everybody thought.
“Honestly, going into US Open, I didn’t expect it. I felt like I was having a bad season, and my focus was just get through the season and focus on the Australian Open this year.”
It was the loss at Wimbledon that helped her take pause, relax and think about all those rounds before the final, one-by-one. She'd thought losing in the first round would have been the worst thing to happen to her.
Turns out, “wasn’t even that bad,” she said. "The world didn’t end. The sun still shines. I still have my friends and family.
“I realized that losing isn’t all that bad, and that I should just focus on the battle and the process and enjoy it. I found myself being able to play freer and trust myself more.”
Gauff is in the same quarter of the draw as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki, both past Australian Open champions who are returning to Melbourne Park as mothers for the first time.
Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up, and No. 8 Maria Sakkari are also there. Defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is in the same half of the draw and could be a semifinal rival.
Sabalenka had a breakthrough win at Melbourne Park last year and reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and the final at the US Open, where she took the first set off Gauff before losing in three.
In tune-up tournaments, Gauff successfully defended her title in Auckland, New Zealand, last weekend and Sabalenka reached the final in Brisbane.
Second-ranked Sabalenka said she's a better player 12 months on from her triumph in Australia.
“I had an incredible season last year, improved a lot as a player and as a person,” she said. “I did really a great pre-season. We worked a lot. I felt like we improved a lot. I feel really great and feel like I’m ready to go.”
On the other side of the draw, No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek is in a tough section, starting with an opener against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. Their only previous meeting was at the 2020 French Open, when Swiatek beat Kenin in the final.
“My first Grand Slam final was against Sofia and now we’re playing in the first round. It’s pretty weird,” Swiatek said. “That’s how our life journeys kind of went apart.”
Awaiting the winner of that match is either 2016 Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber, in her comeback from a maternity break, or 2022 finalist Danielle Collins.
At the bottom of that side of the draw are No. 5 Jessica Pegula and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who hasn't gone past the second round at a major since then and is coming off eight months on the sidelines following operations on both wrists and an ankle.
On the men's side, Djokovic has long dominated Melbourne Park. He's on a 28-match winning streak here — 21 before and seven after the tournament he was forced to miss in 2022 because he wasn't vaccinated for COVID-19.
He's the only one of the so-called Big Three in the field after 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal withdrew last week, his comeback from a year-long injury layoff lasting just three matches.
Djokovic is establishing new rivalries now, some with much younger players such as 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him in the Wimbledon final, and No. 4 Jannik Sinner, the 22-year-old Italian who beat him twice in a month late last season in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals and at the Davis Cup.
Sinner has played some exhibitions since then but not a competitive match ahead of his opener against Botic van de Zandschulp. If the seeds progress on rankings, he could meet Djokovic in the semifinals.
“Just staying in the present moment, to be honest,” Sinner said. “At the end of the year I played really good. I have still the confidence inside me, for sure.”



Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
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Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP

Los Angeles FC sent Lionel Messi and Inter Miami spinning to their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, scoring an upset 1-0 victory in their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final first-leg clash.

A 57th-minute strike from Los Angeles-born El Salvador international Nathan Ordaz handed LAFC a precious advantage heading into next Wednesday's return leg in Florida.

"I think we saw a complete performance," said LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, whose only complaint was that his team had not managed to win by a more convincing margin.

"If we're honest with ourselves we need to be a little sharper in front of goal. If we get the same types of chances next week in Miami we need to be a little more ruthless."

Miami coach Javier Mascherano had few complaints about his team's defeat, according to AFP.

"Obviously we didn't have the best night tonight but it's only the first leg," Mascherano said.

"We have another game next week. We can do what we need to reach the semi-finals."

Unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since the start of the season, Messi and Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the form team of Major League Soccer.

But after a cagey first half that saw neither side manage to get on top, Los Angeles raised their intensity and began causing problems for the visitors.

LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead squandered a golden chance in the 54th minute, blasting well wide after bursting into the penalty area on the overlap.

They made the breakthrough three minutes later with the 21-year-old homegrown striker Ordaz spinning away from former Barcelona and Spain international Sergio Busquets and thumping a low shot into the bottom corner past Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.

Argentine superstar Messi, making his first start since returning as a substitute last weekend following a two-week injury layoff, struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

Instead it was Los Angeles who looked likeliest to score in front of a raucous home crowd of 22,207 fans at the BMO Stadium that included NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Miami team owner David Beckham and Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni.

US international Aaron Long headed just over from a free-kick in the 63rd minute, and moments later only a desperate goal-line block from Miami defender Maxi Falcon denied LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman.

Falcon had one of Miami's few chances in the second half, glancing a header towards the bottom corner that LAFC's former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gathered comfortably.

In a sign of mounting Miami frustration, Busquets was booked for a wild challenge on Cengiz Under.

A disappointing night for Messi was summed up by his failure to make the most of a free-kick in a promising position deep into stoppage time, with the Argentine sending his shot whistling well over the bar as LAFC held on for a deserved victory.