Face of Nation : The US tennis sensation battled back from losing the first set and being 5-2 down in the second to win 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 on Centre Court.Gauff, known as Coco, is the youngest female player to reach the second week of the tournament since Jennifer Capriati made it to the semi-finals aged 15 in 1991.
She is the youngest player to qualify for Wimbledon in the professional era, winning three matches last week against higher-ranked women in the preliminary rounds before knocking out five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round of the main competition.
On Friday evening, Gauff, who is 313th in the world, was a set down and trailed 5-2 in the second against the 28-year-old Slovenian, who is ranked 60.
With Gauff serving at 30-40, Hercog was a point from victory. But the teenager came up with a backhand slice winner that dropped right on the line.
Then at 5-3, Hercog had her second match point but she double-faulted and the second set eventually went to a tie-break in the round three clash.
Gauff, who entered as a wildcard, pounded her chest and shouted “let’s go, come on!” to celebrate a 32-stroke point in the tie-break that forced a third set.
Her mother, Candi Gauff, stood up and pumped her fist, yelling “yes!” as thousands of spectators also rose from their seats to applaud the teenager.
A third set was the last thing Hercog needed as she had a medical timeout and it looked like the youth of Gauff would carry her through as she raced into a 4-1 lead.
The Slovenian fought her way back to 4-4 but, as she applied ice to her legs at the change of ends, the longer it went on the more likely Gauff was to win.
And that was how it turned out as the American took the final set 7-5.
“Right now, I’m just super-relieved that it’s over,” said Gauff.
“I always knew that I could come back, no matter what the score is.”
On Wednesday, she beat 2017 Wimbledon semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova, 30, in a straight-set victory 6-3 6-3 in round two.
The Florida sensation, who was described as the “comeback kid” on the official Wimbledon Twitter account, is set to face former number one Simona Halep in the fourth round on Monday.
Gauff’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said her “enthusiasm is unbelievable”.
He told Sky News: “She saying she is here to win the tournament.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I like this attitude. I know she believes it – she can do anything and beat anybody.
“It’s not being cocky, when you do sport at this level you need to believe in yourself and she does.”
