After a prodigious run at Wimbledon earlier this summer, 15-year-old American Coco Gauff earned a tough three-set win (6-2, 4-6, 6-4) over 26-year-old Timea Babos of Hungary on Thursday night, becoming the youngest player to reach the third round of the U.S. Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996 and making her the brightest young star of American tennis. She is also already the fist pump GOAT.
This was the second to last point of the match and Coco closed it out a minute later when Babos dumped a backhand into the net. The Louis Armstong crowd, which had been chanting Let’s go Coco clap clap clapclapclap throughout the night, lost its collective shit. She was asked about the crowd in post-match interview:
I mean it gets me super pumped and I’m like, wow I’m really so grateful I’m playing in front of all you guys and you actually believe in me and, like, this is just the beginning, I promise, and I promise to always fight for you guys, and thank you so much for all your support.
(Every player always thanks/panders to the crowd but Coco really meant it, or I’m going soft! Skip to the three-minute mark to hear for yourself.)
Coco will play defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round on Saturday.