Coco Vandeweghe’s 6-2, 6-3 ousting of Angelique Kerber from the Australian Open was a master class of attacking tennis, a steadfast refusal to veer from her prescribed tactics and, perhaps, evidence of a world No. 1 feeling the burden of being the favorite.
It was not unlike another unseeded hopeful’s conquest of a top seed, Mischa Zverev’s defeat of Andy Murray, which occurred on the very same day. Zverev’s aggressive play saw him approach the net at every available opportunity; Vandeweghe belted heavy groundstrokes any chance she got. Two games from victory, Vandeweghe rocketed a crosscourt forehand winner, and a point later—unknowingly proving that she could do the opposite equally as effective—stepped into a down-the-line backhand winner. The sequence showed Coco’s command of the court with any shot, on this day, and from any position. The match, as they say, “was on her racquet.”
The final two points of the match saw Vandeweghe, not at all flustered by the gravity of the moment, serve an ace and then a second serve up the T that was returned long. When the ball harmlessly fell behind the baseline, Vandeweghe didn’t fall to the ground in exultation, or yell—as she often does to her players’ box—in delight, but rather she shrugged, almost in disbelief. In truth, the hard-hitting American made it look that easy.