15-year-old Coco Gauff remarkably reaches her first WTA final after straight sets victory over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in Linz Open
- Coco Gauff beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-4 to reach her maiden WTA final
- 15-year-old American is youngest finalist since Czech Nicole Vaidisova in 2004
- Gauff only involved after injury to former Wimbledon winner Angelique Kerber
- Teenager will face either Jelena Ostapenko or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final
Coco Gauff is remarkably through to her maiden tour-level WTA final at the tender age of 15 after defeating Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in the semi-final of the Linz Open.
The teenage sensation secured a 6-4 6-4 victory to continue her phenomenal breakout year and become the youngest player to reach a WTA final since Czech Nicole Vaidisova in 2004.
The teenager only qualified for the tournament as a lucky loser, after an injury to former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber.
15-year-old Coco Gauff is through to her first WTA final after victory over Andrea Petkovic
Gauff, who is currently ranked 110th in the world, lost the opening two games of the match, but then didn’t look back as she claimed the first set 6-4 before a more straightforward 6-4 second set win to secure her final spot.
‘This is crazy, I thought I was out of the tournament in qualifying,’ said the American.
‘This was one of the highest-level matches I’ve played. Andrea hit a lot of winners and put pressure on me.
‘I was fighting for every point, even at break points down, I just tried to get the serve in and make her play a point.’
Gauff defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-4 victory in the Linz Open semi-final
The Atlanta-born rising star is now set to climb to at least 80th in the rankings next week.
Gauff stunned the world in the summer when she beat seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon on her way to reaching the fourth round of the event.
Gauff will now play either former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko of Lativa or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in Sunday’s final.
The youngest-ever winner of a WTA Tour title was two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin, aged just 14, at Portland back in 1977.
Gauff will be hoping to follow suit and write her own name in tennis’ history books this weekend.