Coco Gauff claims maiden WTA title and becomes youngest tour winner in 42 years

The 15-year-old defeated Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2

Fifteen-year-old Coco Gauff won her first WTA title as she beat Jelena Ostapenko in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz final.

The American, who caught the eye at Wimbledon by beating Venus Williams en route to the last 16, won a topsy-turvy final 6-3 1-6 6-2.

Gauff had only made the main draw as a lucky loser after being beaten by Tamara Korpatsch in qualifying but made the most of her chance by beating Stefanie Vogele, Kateryna Kozlova, top seed Kiki Bertens and Andrea Petkovic to reach the final.

A break of serve in the second game was enough for her to take the opening set against Ostapenko, but the Latvian hit back with three breaks in a rapid-fire second set.

Gauff roared into a 5-0 lead in the third and though she let two match points slip away when serving for the match at 5-1, she took her third on a Hawk-Eye challenge to break Ostapenko’s serve in the next game.

That brought a beaming smile from the youngster, who looked as though she could hardly believe her achievement as she celebrated with her family and training team.

PA