Teen Sensation Coco Gauff Returns to Wimbledon Monday After Epic Comeback Victory in Third Round

Posted on: July 7, 2019, 12:00h. 

Last updated on: July 7, 2019, 12:04h.

Wimbledon resumes play on Monday, and all eyes for certain will be watching Cori “Coco” Gauff, tennis’ newest sensation.

At just 15, Cori “Coco” Gauff, seen here returning a shot in her match Friday against Polona Hercog, finds herself among the final 16 players in the Wimbledon women’s singles draw. She returns to action Monday against Simona Halep. (Image: AELTC/David Gray)

The 15-year-old, who faces No. 7-seed Simona Halep in a fourth-round match Monday, will be hard-pressed to duplicate her feats from the first week of the tournament. She won her first two matches in straight sets, including an eye-opening first-round win over former five-time champion Venus Williams. However, she saved her best, and most dramatic, performance for Friday’s third-round match against Polona Hercog.

Gauff lost the first set and trailed in the second set 3-0 before she started a remarkable comeback in her Centre Court debut. She survived two match points from the Slovenian in the second set before pulling out a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 victory that captivated audiences at the All England Club, the restaurant Gauff’s family owns in Florida, and across the world on social media.

FanDuel Sportsbook posted on Twitter that Gauff’s live betting odds at one point reached 100-1 to win the match.

Right now, I’m just super relieved that it’s over,” she said after Friday’s epic victory. “It was a long match and (Hercog) was playing unbelievable. It was my first match on Centre Court. People were saying No. 1 Court was my court but maybe it’s Centre.”

Gauff’s match against Halep, who won the French Open last year, will be televised on ESPN. It will take place on No. 1 Court after the match between No. 11 Serena Williams and No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro that’s set to start at 1 pm London time (8 am ET).

Gauff an Underdog Monday

Not surprisingly, Gauff faces long odds in going up against one of the world’s top players.

PointsBet lists Halep as the favorite at -501, meaning a $501 bet would win $100. Gauff’s odds are at +350, meaning a $100 bet would net $350.

At FanDuel, Halep fetches odds of -480, while Gauff gets +370, with Halep’s odds improving since the line was first posted after Gauff’s win. At PlaySugarHouse, Halep is -480 and Gauff is +360.

William Hill’s US sportsbook lists Halep at -500 to Gauff’s +400.

Title Odds Trimmed

With just 16 players left in the singles’ tournament, the odds are getting shorter for most of the ladies remaining.

At the Westgate SuperBook, Gauff started the tournament with 40-1 odds. As the tournament enters its second week, she’s down to 16-1.

Ashleigh Barty, Wimbledon’s top seed, is the favorite at the SuperBook with 5-2 odds. Karolina Pliskova is the second choice at 7-2, with Serena Williams valued at 5-1. Williams and Barty would draw each other in the quarterfinals if they both win on Monday.

Halep has 8-1 odds to win at the SuperBook.

Gauff receives even higher odds from PointsBet and FanDuel. PointsBet lists the teen sensation at +2000 to win the major, while FanDuel offers Gauff at +2300.

William Hill doesn’t even list individual odds for Gauff to win the title. Instead, she’s lumped into the field option that commands +600 odds.