Coco Gauff's Cinderella Run At Wimbledon Comes To End

DELRAY BEACH, FL — Cori "Coco" Gauff got a standing ovation as she left the All England Club's grass court on Monday after an improbable run that brought the 15-year-old all the way to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

That's pretty impressive for a 15-year-old ninth-grader who is home schooled in Delray Beach, Florida. Her Cinderella run at Wimbledon ended at the hand of former No. 1 Simona Halep in straight sets. See also Coco Gauff's Family, Friends, Share Improbable Wimbledon Victory

"I think we saw similarities to a lot of great early champions," said ESPN's Mary Joe Fernández Godsick who called Monday's match for the network. "She's got it all."

Gauff's family and friends, including her grandmother, Yvonne Odom, broke into rhythmic applause following Monday's match back home at the family's Paradise Spots Lounge in Delray Beach, Florida. "We are proud of you baby," they chanted over and over again.

The story was much different on Friday when Gauff fought off two match points to overcome a 1 set to love, 5-2 game deficit and pull out a 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 win against 28-year-old Polona Hercog of Slovenia.

"I hope they learned from me that anything is possible if you work hard and just continue to dream big," said Gauff, speaking at a press conference after the match.

She said she first picked up a racket when she was just 6. "If somebody told me this maybe three weeks ago, I probably wouldn't believe it," said the teen. "I think just putting in the work definitely raised my confidence because I knew how hard I worked and I knew what shots I could make and what was possible."

The teenager leaves London with wins against five-time Wimbledon champion and fellow Floridian Venus Williams in the first round and 2017 semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova in the second round before her dramatic come-from-behind victory over Hercog.

Gauff's grandmother called the comeback a "miracle" in an interview with Patch after Friday's match.

"I have seen her come from down before in matches. So I know she has it in her. She has a heart to see it, to do it. It's just to me a miracle. I believe in miracles. I'm a miracle. She's a miracle," Odom told Patch.

Athleticism runs in Gauff's family. Her mother was a decathlon star at Atlantic Community High School and her grandfather was a catcher in the minor leagues for the Atlanta Braves and the former Washington Senators.

Her parents, Candi and Corey, who spells his name differently than his daughter, have been in London throughout the tournament. Corey Gauff is credited with encouraging his daughter to take up tennis.

Gauff has garnered headlines around the world as she became the youngest woman to win a match at the All England Club since 1991, when Jennifer Capriati reached the semifinals at the same age. She even got high praise from former first lady Michelle Obama in a tweet:

Fernández Godsick said Gauff was taken aback when a little girl approached her on Sunday on a Wimbledon practice court saying the teen was her idol.

"Coco just looked at her like ‘I’m your idol’" explained Fernández Godsick.

Later, Gauff elaborated on the encounter.

"It kind of makes me tear up because I never expected people to look up to me. I still look up to people. I guess it makes me kind of excited to see how many other people I can inspire because that's the reason why I got in the sport because I got inspired by somebody else," she explained. "Maybe the little girl who came up to me, another little girl will come up to her and say that she is their idol."

Kelly Ripa marveled over Gauff's great discipline on Monday's "Live With Kelly and Ryan" saying she would be happy if her 16-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter simply learned to hang up their towels.

"Hang up your towel on a hook so it doesn't get mildew," Ripa said. "You can use a towel more than once."