Olympia 2021: Cori Gauff on the trail of Jennifer Capriati
Cori Gauff was nominated for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 17-year-old could emulate an even younger ex-player from the USA.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Jul 01, 2021, 11:09 pm
The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona are remembered from a German-speaking tennis perspective mainly because Boris Becker and Michael Stich won gold in doubles together there. As is well known, the two alpha animals did not talk to each other much on their way to precious metal, but the animosity has long since subsided. By the way, Stefanie Graf also won silver in the individual, four years after the gold medal in Seoul, which went down in history as part of the “Golden Slam”.
Graf's conqueror in the final in Barcelona? That was the then 16-year-old American Jennifer Caprati. With Cori Gauff, a compatriot Capriatis has now been nominated for Tokyo 2021, who is only slightly older - namely 17. Gauff is currently engaged in Wimbledon. And made it through to the third round with confidence. In any case, she immediately announced the anticipation of her first games via social networks, and well-known well-wishers such as ski legend Mikaela Shiffrin were not long in coming.
Capriati cannot withstand the pressure
Now Gauff jumped on the WTA carousel at the tender age of 15, Jennifer Capriati was allowed to do so at the age of 13. After early successes, she was unable to cope with the pressure and high expectations for a while, and took a two-year, not entirely voluntary break . It was only nine years after her triumph at the Olympics that Capriati should celebrate her greatest victories: first at the Australian Open in 2001 and in the same year at Roland Garros. The third and final major triumph followed again in Melbourne in 2002.
Cori Gauff's career planning seems to be more sensible. Not only because she is in good hands with TEAM 8, Roger Federer's agency and his manager Tony Godsick. Anyone who knows how important a medal at the Olympics is to US athletes, suspects that Gauff would not mind following Jennifer Capriati in just a few weeks, at least in this regard.