AO Day 1: Coco Gauff does it again, effortless Federer, Serena sailing through, Shapo shock exit

In a highly exciting rematch between Coco Gauff and Venus Williams at the Australian Open, the 15-year-old proved that her win at Wimbledon was no fluke, repeating the feat, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Coco Gauff set the tennis world ablaze with her defeat over her idol, Venus Williams, in her first round at Wimbledon last year at the age of 15. It looks like fate had intervened again, with the youngest player facing off against the oldest in the draw (Venus, age 39). This time, however, the match was a tighter affair, with the first set going to a tie-breaker, but the second set demonstrating Gauff’s ever increasing confidence and presence in the world of tennis.

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“I was a bit shocked,” was how Coco Gauff explained the odds of meeting Venus Williams once again in a slam first round, according to ESPN.

The 15-year-old tennis player surged to a commanding 3-0 lead in the second set and didn’t look back.

"“I definitely was more confident this time. I think I was used to playing on big courts, so the crowd — I guess the size of the crowd didn’t startle me as much as last time,” Gauff said via ESPN. “Definitely a bit more positive coming into this match.”"

The young American player heads into this Australian Open as a new world No. 67, having reached her highest career ranking of 66 last week. Gauff is only 15, and will turn 16 in March. She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and third at the US Open, and won her first WTA title last year.

Venus’ sister, Serena Williams, had a much easier time in her match, defeating Anastasia Potapova in resounding fashion, 6-0, 6-3. Hitting nine aces and winning 81 percent of her first serve points, the 38-year-old is making a strong case that she will equal Margaret Court’s 24-slam record.

Coming on the heels of her win in Auckland, the 23-time slam champ looks more resilient than ever. Roger The Auckland win was her first title in two years and since giving birth. She also donated her entire prize money from Auckland to the Australian bush fire victims.

“A very, very impressive performance by Serena in the first match that she played here,” ESPN’s Chrissie Evert commentated on the match, according to Forbes.

On the men’s side, Roger Federer was the master of grace and precision, sailing into the second round with a three-set win over American Steve Johnson, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

The six-time AO winner has seemed completely relaxed since arriving at Melbourne, demonstrated by his fun hide-and-seek play with his team in the locker area. I guess he’s had plenty of practice with his four kids.

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The win was a massive relief since the Swiss player missed prep tournaments, including the exciting ATP Cup, where Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic faced each other in the final a week ago.

“I haven’t played proper matches in many, many weeks, and probably 95 percent of the guys are coming here with matches,” Federer said, according to the AO website.

In the same side of the draw, Novak Djokovic got through his opener, but had to fight off an offensive Jan-Lennard Struff, who came back in the third, with the seven-time AO champ ultimately clinching the victory, 7-6(5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. The move to the second round was also the Serbian’s 900th ATP match win.

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There weren’t many shocks the first day, but Canada’s Denis Shapovalov — one of the biggest young talents in the game at 20 years old — displayed a temper and the tournament’s first shock defeat, losing to Marton Fucsovic, 6-3, 7-6 (7), 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Round one at the Australian Open continues on Monday (our time) and Tuesday, in Australia. If you’re watching live, keep preparing for late night/early morning viewing. You can also check here to hear my AO predictions.

Stay tuned here for all your Australian Open coverage.

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