Tereza Valentova: Life comes at you fast

And not only will it be Valentova’s first match against a player of Gauff’s calibre, a cemented top 10 star and Grand Slam champion. It will also be the 18-year-old’s first-ever match against a player ranked in the top 100.

Life comes at you fast, doesn’t it?

Despite limited experience at the top level of the pro ranks thus far — before last week, Valentova had never contested Grand Slam qualifying, but stormed through three rounds without the loss of a set — she is one of a handful of teenagers making their mark on the women’s field at Roland-Garros this year.

Five, in fact, won their first-round matches — a group led, of course, by 18-year-old No.6 seed Mirra Andreeva.

But the other four — including 18-year-old Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko, already through to the third round; 17-year-old American Iva Jovic, who in January also won a round at the Australian Open; another Czech, 19-year-old Sara Bejlek, who is also a former Roland-Garros junior doubles champion; and Valentova — are quickly proving they belong too.

Take what she did on Tuesday as an example. The teen who goes by the nickname ‘Tery’ earned her shot against Gauff by defeating French favourite Chloe Paquet in the first round 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, a match in which she trailed 5-2 in the final set.

As Paquet, a 30-year-old competing in her eighth Roland-Garros, neared the finish line, it was the veteran who blinked first. The teenager showed savviness beguiling her age, and allowed a player nearly twice her age to implode.

Quieting a partisan crowd supporting Paquet on Court 7, the Czech struck 41 winners en route to becoming just the seventh female reigning Roland-Garros junior champion this century to also win a match in the main draw the following year.

But it’s no surprise to see that Valentova is already a stern competitor. She dubs Novak Djokovic an inspiration, and hails from the famous TK Sparta Prague that also produced major champions like Petra Kvitova and Hana Mandlikova, as well as Karolina Pliskova among others — including peer Laura Samson, whom she beat in last year’s Parisian title match.

She also occasionally practices with 2015 Roland-Garros singles finalist Lucie Safarova, another former top 10 player.

Valentova isn’t in the business of taking unfettered access to some of the game’s best players for granted. With advice from Safarova and others in hand, she has also won her first four professional finals, all contested on the ITF circuit last year, and has only continued to win at the sport’s lower levels.

She’s 24-6 this year and has already added two more singles titles to her burgeoning trophy case.

“All the players are amazing,” she confessed of her compatriots last year. “It's really good that we can [see] it's possible to get there. But it's really tough, because it's a long way. So I hope that I'm on the right way and we'll see.”

Whatever the result against Gauff, it’s safe to say that there’s only upside for this young talent.