Coco Gauff believes the key for Serena Williams’ first round opponent will be to believe in herself and not look at the scoreboard.
Maya Joint has been drawn to play the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is returning to singles competition at the age of 44 after a three-and-a-half-year absence. The Australian is currently ranked 87th in the world, which is just over 60 places lower than her career high. Joint has won two WTA titles so far in her career, with one of those being on grass at Eastbourne 12 months ago.
Ahead of the highly anticipated showdown, Gauff shared her advice for Joint based on her experience of playing Williams’ sister Venus as a teenager at Wimbledon. When she was 15, the American pulled off a shock win en route to the fourth round on what was her Grand Slam debut.
“When I was in that position, I didn’t look at the scoreboard the whole match. I did not want to see Venus’ name,” Gauff recounted during her pre-tournament press conference on Saturday.
“No matter how much you try to block it out, I feel like once you see the name, it makes everything seem real. Maybe don’t look at the scoreboard.
“Also, you have to go in with the belief you can win and expect that they’re going to play great tennis now.”
Williams has only played in two doubles tournaments since returning to the Tour and there are still unanswered questions about how her fitness will hold up during a singles match. Speaking to reporters at the HSBC Championships, the former world No.1 said she ‘doesn’t have anything to lose. Everything is just a gain.’
“I definitely think she has to go into it believing she can win,” Gauff continued about her advice for Joint.
“Anyone playing a Williams sister, it’s not going to be easy.”
As for Joint, who was born in America and has dual citizenship with the country, she is relishing her showdown with one of the sport’s most decorated players of all time. It has been a dismal last few months for the 20-year-old on the Tour. Since reaching the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International in January, she has lost 13 out of 14 matches played.
“It’s an honour. I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy. I have so much respect for her, she was one of my idols growing up. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to play against her,” Joint told reporters in London.
“When I saw she’d got a wild card, there was always a part of me that wanted to experience playing against her.
“It’s not something that a lot of people have been able to say they’ve done, so I’m just very excited for the opportunity.”
Joint is scheduled to play Williams on Tuesday.
