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Florida's Cori "Coco" Gauff advances at Wimbledon with thrilling victory over Polona Hercog

Posted at 8:35 PM, Jul 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-05 20:35:58-04

Delray Beach teen tennis star Cori "Coco" Gauff continued her historic and thrilling winning streak at Wimbledon on Friday, pulling off a nail-biting comeback victory against Polona Hercog in a women's singles match.

The 15-year-old Gauff came from behind to defeat Hercog, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5.

"I always knew that I could come back no matter what the score is, and I just kind of went for my shots," Gauff said after Friday's win.

The teen now advances to the fourth round to play Romania's Simona Halep on Monday. Halep is the 7th ranked player in the world.

Gauff has been one of the biggest success stories at Wimbledon this year, first making history earlier this week when she beat her idol, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, followed by a round two victory against Magdalena Rybarikova on Wednesday.

"The crowd was amazing," said Gauff on Friday. "I'm just super thankful that they believe in me."

According to the U.S. Tennis Association, Gauff is the youngest player to reach the third round of Wimbledon since 1991.

RELATED: Gauff's Wimbledon win inspires South Florida teens

The teen, who was born in Georgia and now lives in Delray Beach, is the 12th youngest player to compete in women's singles at Wimbledon since 1968.

On Friday, family, friends, and fans erupted in cheers and applause throughout the dramatic match during a watch party at the Paradise Sports Lounge in suburban Delray Beach.

Next up for the 15-year-old: Simona Halep... 👀#TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/EsJ5R9mJfW

— USTA (@usta) July 5, 2019