Australian Open 2020 draw: Coco Gauff to face Venus Williams in first round in repeat of Wimbledon match-up

Vicki Hodges
Coco Gauff will face Venus Williams in the pick of the first-round matches at the Australian Open - REX
Coco Gauff will face Venus Williams in the pick of the first-round matches at the Australian Open - REX

  • 15-year-old Coco Gauff to face 39-year-old Venus Williams

  • Novak Djokovic draws Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff

  • British No 1 Dan Evans to meet American McKenzie MacDonald

  • Katie Boulter to face fifth seed Elina Svitolina

8:12AM

Recapping when a star was born

So undoubtedly the pick of the draw has to be the first-round ding-dong match-up of oldest vs youngest as Venus Williams takes on Coco Gauff again for the second time in three slams.

Coco demolished Venus in their first major meeting at Wimbledon last summer 6-4, 6-4. Oliver Brown was there to cover the momentous occasion and wrote this at the time:

Nobody on Court No 1 could quite comprehend that this was Gauff’s first Grand Slam match, or that she was the youngest player, courtesy of a shrewdly-judged Wimbledon wildcard, to qualify for the main draw. She had grown up citing the elder Williams sister, now a grande dame of the sport at 39, as her hero, but here she bulldozed her aside with the breathtaking audacity of youth. The 6-4, 6-4 scoreline, featuring only one break of Gauff’s serve, reflected the eerie efficiency with which the win was sealed. For all that Venus is falling in the tennis firmament, the star of Cori - “Coco” to her family and friends - is fast in the ascendant.

Once the initial shock had subsided, Gauff spoke with disarming verve about what her future held. “I want to be the greatest,” she said. “My dad told me that I could do this when I was eight. You just have to say things. If I had gone into this match saying, ‘Let’s see how many games I can get against her’, then I most definitely would not have won. My dream was to win, and that’s what happened. I think people limit themselves too much. I like to shoot high.”

Coco Gauff celebrates her win over Venus last summer - Credit: AP
Coco Gauff celebrates her win over Venus last summer Credit: AP

 

8:08AM

And the Brits?

Johanna Konta, the 12th seed, who has been struggling with a knee injury, has drawn Tunisian Ons Jabeur and would be on course to meet Serena Williams in the fourth round.

Katie Boulter, who has been out for six months with a back injury, faces a tough return in the majors as she takes on fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

Heather Watson, meanwhile, has drawn Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister of second seed Karolina Pliskova.

 

8:04AM

What about the defending champion?

Osaka, who says she doesn't look at the draws, will face Czech Republic's Marie Bouzková, while No 1 seed and French Open champion Ash Barty will open up against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.

 

7:55AM

The women's draw

Oh my, we have a corker. Venus Williams has been drawn to face 15-year-old sensation Coco Gauff again!

Coco stunned Venus on her major debut at Wimbledon last year to launch her career. It's a rematch of the oldest vs youngster again.

7:44AM

Osaka talks - and is endearing as always

Osaka on her major win in Melbourne last year and thoughts on Coco.

It feels great. It didn't work out at the US Open as I prepared for my defence, but I feel more prepared now. I watched the highlights of my final win last year. I thought it was pretty interesting.

Coco is very special. The crowds were coming just to watch her at the US Open and I wanted to give her the opportunity to speak. I feel a little protective of her.

It's crazy the way my life has gone, but I'm grateful to be here.

Osaka on being star-struck by Serena

I don't talk to people, I stare at people from a distance. If I was to talk to Serena, she talks to me, I get surprised she talks to me and I don't talk back. I'm trying to get the courage (to speak to her). She's the one I admired to start playing. Then there was the US Open thing, but she's been super nice to me.

 

7:35AM

What about the British men?

Dan Evans, who lost in the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International to Russian Andrey Rublev overnight, will face American McKenzie MacDonald in the first round. Kyle Edmund, who also lost his last-eight match in Adelaide, will take on Serbian's Dusan Lajovic. Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, has drawn France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

 

7:32AM

The draw in full

Not the clearest I'll admit...

 

7:30AM

Finally, the draw

Last year's losing finalist Rafa Nadal will face start his campaign against Bolivian Hugo Dellien in the opening round and could be on course to meet fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the quarters.

Roger Federer will meet American Steve Johnson in the opening round and has been drawn in the same half as Djokovic, meaning they could be heading for a semi-final showdown.

Defending champion Djokovic, second seed in Australia, will open his title defence against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.

7:14AM

Djokovic on his final win last year

Djokovic won a record-breaking seventh Australian Open title when he beat Rafael Nadal 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in a one-sided final last year. He reflects on that day:

That was probably the best performance in finals, in grand slams in my career. Rafa was in great form, he hadn't dropped an entire set the tournament. It's one of those days when everything works perfectly.

Rafa and Roger help draw out the best in all of us. It obliges us to step it up, otherwise we're going to lose a match. That rivalry has been special between us. We still look at each other's games and careers and we still compare our games to each other.

 

7:09AM

Djokovic speaks

First real mention of the bushfires in Australia as Djokovic talks about the charity match he took part in with Coco Gauff, Rafal Nadal and Serena Williams among others yesterday.

The firefighters are heroes. What they are doing to save people's lives, animals lives is truly amazing.

7:06AM

So not quite live then

Turns out the draw has already been made in the 'official draw room' but won't be revealed until a little while during the draw show. Here comes Djokovic.

7:02AM

Here we go

So we're expecting defending champions Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic to provide their thoughts on the opening major during the 'draw show' ceremony on Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park.

 

6:51AM

The bigger picture

Morning all, the opening grand slam of the season, the Australian Open, starts on Monday and we'll be bringing you all the details of the first-round draw which is due to get under way from 7am GMT.

Events leading up to the major have been dominated by the ongoing bushfires in Australia and the crippling effects on wildlife, infrastructure, economy and lives.

The wildfire smoke blowing across the city has made Melbourne one of the worst cities in the world for air quality and, this week during qualifying, Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire after suffering a coughing fit caused by the thick smoke.

Yesterday, a number of tennis greats played in a charity match, taking the amount raised for the bushfire appeal to over 4m Australian dollars.

A growing number of players have also pledged to donate money for each ace they hit during their time in Australia.

Local player Nick Kyrgios raised A$1,600 (£954) in aces alone at Wednesday's Rally for Relief.

Back to matters on the court and another home-grown talent, Australian No 1 Alex De Minaur, has been forced to pull out of the major with an abdominal injury.

The 20-year-old, who is ranked 21st, suffered a muscle tear during the ATP Cup campaign, where he played four intense matches, including a three hour-and-24-minute defeat by Britain's Dan Evans and a three-set tussle with Rafael Nadal.

"It's pretty devastating to miss out on my home slam. I wanted to go out there and play, even though I've got a four centimetre, grade two tear, so it's not a joke, it's something really serious," he said.

"Obviously everyone was telling me not to play and it is the smartest thing. Getting out of bed hurts, everyday activity hurts.

"The risks of me potentially playing was that it could get to a grade three tear, which involves stitches and means probably a problem for the rest of your career. So, even though it killed me, this is the right decision. Now I've just got to look at what's ahead."

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