Wimbledon 2019: Coco Gauff battles back from the brink to beat Polona Hercog in stunning third-round victory

The teenager beat her Slovenian opponent 3-6 7-6 7-5 in two hours and 46 minutes

Wimbledon has seen few sights like it. On the brink of defeat, her nerve seemingly broken, the young Cori Gauff – just 15 years of age – tapped into a rich vein of defiance and fortitude to pull off the most remarkable of comebacks.

Beneath a sun-drenched Centre Court – that by the close of play had sunk into a cool, grey shade – Gauff beat Slovenia’s Polona Hercog across three captivating sets of tennis, winning 3-6 7-6 7-5, to reaffirm her credentials as tennis’ next rising star.

Initially hesitant and careless, with the scale of the occasion perhaps getting the better of the youngster, the 15-year-old fought back from two match points to book her place in the last 16 of these Wimbledon Championships.

In front of a jam-packed Centre Court crowd, which had turned out for the latest chapter in this young star’s story, it looked as if Gauff had finally been bettered. Initially, this was a performance that lacked the assertive composure that had defined her earlier Wimbledon displays.

Double faults. Netted backhands. Overcooked backhands. This was not the Cori Gauff that had so assuredly swept aside idol Venus Williams at the beginning of the week.

Indeed, against the consistency and power of Hercog – who repeatedly thrilled with her stinging forehand shots, which seemed to explode from out of her racket – the American looked short of answers.

The first swing in momentum came with the first set poised at 3-3 as both women sought to make the first break. It was Hercog, though, who claimed first blood.

After moving the game to advantage with a deft volley from the net, the Slovenian subseqeuntly drew her opponent into a lengthy rally that had the SW19 crowd sucked in, breathes held, wondering who would pull the trigger.

Finally, after successive forehand exchanges, Hercog made the decisive move, switching the direction of play to outfox the American and inflict the first break of her Wimbledon campaign.

Gauff’s aura seemed to have been shattered as she fumbled her way through the next two games, before throwing away her serve – and the first set – with a fifth double fault of the match.

The first break of the second set came much earlier than the first. Yet another unforced error – a forehand shot that failed to clear the white tape – proved to be the 15-year-old’s undoing. Frustration etched on her face, the teenager threw her racket to the floor in anger.

At 4-1 down, Gauff held with a series of thunderous serves and a well-placed forehand winner to stir the crowd into life once again. But there was to be no let up from Hercog who quickly moved to 5-3 – and two match points.

Here, though, with the full backing of the crowd, Gauff came alive. Fighting back to take the game to a second break point, the American made her breakthrough, drawing a netted forehand from Hercog that changed the dynamics of this tie.

Confidently holding in the next game, the American took the second set to 5-5 – only for her opponent to follow suit.

The American in full flow against Hercog (Getty)

Undeterred, Gauff pushed on, securing the tie-break after her opponent found the net on what should have been a simple forehand.

What followed was 16 points of breathless, captivating, nerve-wracking tennis. With the tie-break at 8-7, Gauff’s opportunity to seal the set finally came after a lofted Hercog return was sent high into the blue expanse above. There, waiting beneath, was the young American, poised to strike. With a fierce overhead smash, Gauff duly delivered, sending Centre Court into an explosion of noise.

With momentum behind her, the youngster quickly rushed to 4-1 in the third and final set. Defiant, irrepressible and utterly assured, her confidence was in full flow, the range of her talents on show as she overwhelmed the Slovenian with her aggressive baseline shots and fierce athleticism.

But after the highs and lows that had unfolded thus far, there was to be no simple conclusion for Gauff.

Hercog rallied – a final flourish of resistance from the world No 60 – to take the set to 5-5. Gauff duly held, her composure restored after yet another wobble.

With the Slovenian on serve, Gauff moved to advantage as the tension on Centre Court rose to breaking point. Back and forth the yellow ball spun, a whirring blur of motion, before eventually Hercog’s focus snapped. Long it went, beyond the baseline. Victory, against all odds, was Gauff’s.

After staring defeat in the face, she had clawed her way back, channelling a fierce mental resilience rarely seen of someone so young.

And so, with another win under her belt, another moment of history in her pocket, Gauff’s Wimbledon fairytale continues.