A tennis battle of the ages against Serena Williams will have to wait after rising star Coco Gauff was upset in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The tournament’s dream scenario of an all-American quarter-final between 15-year-old Gauff and 38-year-old legend Williams was ruined when the youngster fell 5-7 6-2 6-3 to Germany’s Laura Siegemund on Thursday.
Williams later had her own battle to contend with but eventually reached the last eight via a 3-6 6-2 6-3 win over compatriot Christina McHale in a clash that stretched just short of two hours.
An out-of-sorts Williams was broken twice early to concede the first set.
It meant she had to go to three sets against 86th-ranked McHale for the third time in their four meetings, all of which the veteran has won.
Williams said the time on court was ideal as she builds towards her campaign for an eighth Australian Open and a record-equalling 24th grand slam crown.
“It was a good match for me. I really need to play matches like that to get to my goals,” she told Sky Sport NZ.
“Tournament time is super-important, mmatch time is good. It’s fun to be out here after losing that first set. I’m glad I’m still in the event.”
Gauff couldn’t handle another blustery Auckland day and the dogged consistency of her lower-ranked opponent, finishing the match with 49 unforced errors including seven double faults.
Despite the urging of the crowd and regular rev-ups between games from her father Corey, Gauff appeared rattled by an inability to find her timing.
The world No.67, who took the tennis world by storm when reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in June, fought back from 5-3 down to claim the first set.
However, her game then deserted her in what will be her last singles match before making her Australian Open debut.
Because of her youth, Gauff must play a restricted number of tournaments so won’t appear in WTA events at Adelaide or Hobart next week.
The evening session will stage matches involving fourth-seeded German and two-time defending champion Julia Georges, along with fifth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki.