Teen sensation Coco Gauff has crashed out of the Australian Open following a shock straight-sets loss to China’s Qiang Wang.
Gauff, the No.18 seed, was made to pay for numerous unforced errors, going down 6-4 6-2.
Seemingly in good form heading into the tournament after two weeks of strong competition in Adelaide, Gauff said she was disappointed with “everything” to do with the match.
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“I feel like in the preseason, I worked really hard, and I felt like I was ready to have a good run here,” she said.
“Today I just didn’t perform well.
“I think learning-wise there’s a lot to learn from. I think I didn’t play as free as I normally do today. I think I was playing a little bit tighter than normal.
“So I think next time coming into the first round of a slam, especially after a tough week before, I think I need to just play more free and focus on the moment.
Downing Gauff was not Wang’s first time causing a major upset at the Australian Open after she stunned Serena Williams at Melbourne Park two years ago.
Speaking to the media post-match, Gauff said she was not surprised by Wang’s efforts despite her defeater being ranked outside of the top 100.
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“For me, ranking is just a number,” she said.
“Obviously paper-wise I’m supposed to win the match, but I think that even when I was ranked lower before, I always think ranking is just a number.
“Anybody is capable of winning anything, and especially in the US Open, we saw that.
“So I think for me, yeah, ranking-wise I wasn’t really thinking about me being ranked higher or anything like that. I was just trying to win the match.
“But today she played well. I think she did a good job of keeping the ball deep in the court. I wasn’t able to really be comfortable today”
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