Australian Open gripped by Cocomania as Gauff backs up the hype

When the makers of the hit documentaries Senna, Amy and Maradona began to explore the phenomenon of celebrity in sport and showbusiness, they wanted the subject to be famous enough to be known by a single name. As a result, their films hit screens around the world with singular impact. And so to Coco: the real-life movie.

In London, New York and now Melbourne over the past few months, the tennis village and beyond have come to know and applaud the American teenager Cori Gauff by that short and memorable nickname. Some even think it has been hers from birth. All eagerly anticipate her next contribution to their entertainment so they can shout “Go, Coco.”

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Cocomania will grip this Australian Open and everywhere she plays for as long as the youngest player in either draw keeps winning and charming, which she does with equal facility. Born in March 2004, she could still play juniors until the end of 2022, if she chose to – having put the disappointment of losing in the first round of the girls’ competition here last year behind her.

There are not many 15-year-olds so self-possessed, as she has shown in advancing to the fourth round in singles – where she is due to play her 21-year-old compatriot Sofia Kenin , the winner advancing to the quarter-finals against either Ons Jabeur, who sent the 29-year-old Caroline Wozniacki into retirement, or Wang Qiang, who made the Dane’s 38-year-old friend Serena Williams take a look at flight schedules.

Patrick Mouratoglou, Williams’s coach, looks after Gauff as well at his academy in the south of France, and said she came to him before she played the defending champion, Naomi Osaka, on Friday and wanted to know what the Japanese player had done to overwhelm her at the US Open only six months ago.

Men's singles

(1) Rafael Nadal v Nick Kyrgios (23)
(10) Gaël Monfils v Dominic Thiem (5)
(4) Daniil Medvedev v Stan Wawrinka (15)
(17) Andrey Rublev v Alexander Zverev (7)

Tennys Sandgren v Fabio Fognini (12)
Marton Fucsovics v Roger Federer (3)
Milos Raonic (32) v Marin Cilic
Diego Schwartzman (14) v Novak Djokovic (2)

Women's singles

(1) Ashleigh Barty v Alison Riske (18)
(22) Maria Sakkari v Petra Kvitova (7)
Coco Gauff v Sofia Kenin (14)
Ons Jabeur v Wang Qiang

(28) Anett Kontaveit v Iga Swiatek
(16) Elise Mertens v Simona Halep (4)
Garbiñe Muguruza v Kiki Bertens (9)
(17) Angelique Kerber v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (30)

“She asked for things that worked for Osaka against her,” he told Eurosport, “and she asked for her hitting partner to do that. ‘I want to get used to it as I know that’s what I will have to deal with,’ she said. That is so smart. It shows so much maturity. The way she played Naomi was a result of what happened a few months before. This is a trademark of a future champion.”

Gauff is also through to round three of the women’s doubles, with her fellow American, Caty McNally, herself only 18, and due to play on Monday against the 10th seeds, Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara. Gauff and McNally are an amiable double act, bringing laughter to their sometimes serious day job.

“We definitely have a lot of fun on the court and you can tell with our little handshakes,” Gauff said.

McNally, who recalled they began playing together in juniors two years ago, said: “We are doing really well, having a lot of fun out there. We have won two WTAs. We will keep going.”

Both have brought their schoolbooks and make daily phone calls across several time zones to their teachers as they continue their education while simultaneously building careers in one of the most demanding disciplines in sport.

As Gauff points out: “We are both competitive. We both want to win. There is another person on the court. So we pick each other up. I have to have a similar mindset going into singles and doubles.”

Related: Nick Kyrgios beats Karen Khachanov in Australian Open five-set rollercoaster

It is in singles where the limelight lands and the challenges are ramped up in front of a global TV audience of millions. In Gauff’s side of the draw, the world No 1, Ashleigh Barty, is still looking strong, and plays world No 18 Alison Riske on Sunday. On the other side of the draw on Saturday, the second seed, Karolina Pliskova, crashed out and her conqueror, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, has the former champion Angelique Kerber next, after the German’s tough three-set win over the unseeded Italian Camila Giorgi.

The others who went through to the fourth round on day six were Anett Kontaveit, who plays the Polish teenager, Iga Swiatek, who still has to explain to journalists how to pronounce her name; Elise Mertens, who beat Heather Watson, has a big job getting past the fourth seed, Simona Halep, who earlier in the week beat Harriet Dart. At least the British were moving in good company.

The up-and-down Garbiñe Muguruza, a former Wimbledon champion but unseeded here, upset the fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, in two quick sets, and plays Kiki Bertens, who beat Zarina Diyas in a late two-setter on Margaret Court Arena.