Delray Beach's Coco Gauff legitimate contender when Australian Open starts on Monday

Coco Gauff is off to a winning start to the new year after her 2022 campaign ended with a weary thud.

With the Australian Open – the year’s first Grand Slam – beginning Monday, the 18-year-old Delray Beach star is viewed as a legitimate contender for her first major as she gathers traction Down Under.

It’s the first major being played since Serena Williams retired in September at the US Open.

Gauff, who dropped her final five singles matches of  2022, rocketed to the title in Auckland last weekend without dropping a set in the last important Aussie Open tuneup. It was her third WTA championship.

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“Coco had a great tournament to win in Auckland,’’ ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe said on a conference call this week. “She looked really comfortable. I think the last couple months of last year she was exhausted. She played so much, singles and doubles.

" I think for Coco this year, it's about managing her schedule better, peaking for the biggest tournaments, because there's no doubt that she's knocking on the door.’’

Gauff, who turns 19 in March, faces 48th-ranked Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic in the first round. She enjoyed a potent 2022  in making The Finals of the French Open and also advancing to her first US Open quarterfinal in September.

But the South Florida teenager sputtered down the stretch, losing all three of her matches in the season-ending WTA championships and then her lone singles match at the Billie Jean King Cup in Scotland.

Though Jimmy Connors criticized Gauff for claiming she was “tired,’’ the slump shouldn’t overshadow the progress she made in 2022 - the first year she had no age restrictions on the number of tournaments she could enter.

“She's still only a teenager and she keeps improving and working on her game,’’ said ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez. “I think it's a matter of time before she breaks through at a major.’’

This will be Gauff’s second year working with new full-time coach, Diego Moyano, who was tennis director at Mission Bay in Boca Raton.

Gauff’s seen a noticeable difference in reducing double faults. Her backhand is one of the best in women’s’ tennis. She is arguably the best mover on tour. And she continued to show in Australia an eagerness to attack the net off short balls.

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Fernandez, whose husband Tony Godsick, is Gauff’s agent has seen Gauff’s training sessions in South Florida

“I think Coco has worked a lot on her game,’’ Fernandez said. “I think she's really worked on her weaknesses. For a while, she was double faulting a lot, going for a lot on her second serve, and that seems to be under control. I'm impressed with someone that young who's willing to work at her weaknesses.’’

Gauff’s forehand still hasn’t caught up with her wicked backhand.

“I feel like the forehand is going in the right direction,’’ Fernandez said. “Then just watching her play in Auckland this last week, I felt like she was a little more committed to really hitting through it. It’s still the area where the players are going to attack and where she's going to be more vulnerable. The next step, I think, is her return off the forehand needs to improve or keep improving, but I'm impressed.’’

While 2022 US Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland is the favorite, Fernandez believes three Americans, Gauff, Jessica Pegula, who has a residence in Boca Raton, and Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg). have legitimate shots. Collins made the Australian Open Finals last year in a big surprise.

“Between Pegula, Coco and Collins, let's see if we can have a breakthrough there,’’ Fernandez said.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Coco Gauff among favorites for women's title at Australian Open