Gauff, who beat former semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova in the second round, was roared on by the crowd but found it hard at first to cope with 28-year-old Hercog's heavy groundstrokes and big serve. She showed remarkable composure, however, to fight back against the 60th-ranked Slovenian, who failed to convert two match points in the second set. Hercog needed treatment on her back after the second set and slumped to 4-1 in the third but she too fought back in the tense duel. Gauff is the youngest player to qualify for Wimbledon in the Open era and the youngest to reach the fourth round since American Jennifer Capriati, also aged 15, in 1991. She faces seventh seed Simona Halep, a former world number one, in the last 16.

Source: The Star July 05, 2019 19:37 UTC