NEW YORK – Coco Gauff overcame some rocky serves early in the second round of the U.S. Open to extend her winning streak to nine matches at the site of her first Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over 99th-seeded Tatjana Maria on Wednesday night.
“I can serve better,” said Gauff. “The first set would have been much easier.”
Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida, had a tough time early under the floodlights in hot and humid Arthur Ashe Stadium against Maria, a 37-year-old from Germany who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon two years ago and slices almost every forehand and backhand shot.
“Last week, I felt more pressure at first,” Gauff said of her return to Flushing Meadows as defending champion in an on-court interview conducted by 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios. “But now, when I step on the court, I really have nothing to lose… and I have the potential to achieve more, whether it happens this year or in the future.”
Gauff made seven double faults in the first set. She hit less than half of her first serves. She had five break points but saved four. And other aspects of her game also had problems. She won the point only 9 of 17 attempts to get to the net and made twice as many unforced errors (20) as winners (10).
After some of her mistakes, her body language often seemed negative. Gauff would look at her guest box and raise her palms as if to say, “What’s going on?” She would roll her eyes or put one hand on her hip, even after a wild volley that flew several meters.
Serving for the first set, Gauff made two double faults and faced two break points that would have allowed Maria to level the score at 5-5. But Maria missed a forehand shot on the first shot and Gauff hit a cross-court forehand passing shot on the second shot to end the match.
The second set was a completely different story.
Gauff hit 15 winners, made just five unforced errors – two of which were double faults – and hit 10 of 11 shots.
“I should have done more in the first set,” said Gauff, seeded number 3, about her success later on.
On Friday, she will face 27th seed Elina Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist who beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-2, for a place in the fourth round.
Gauff came to New York after a series of early exits elsewhere, including two consecutive losses in hard-court warm-up tournaments this month, followed by fourth-round exits at Wimbledon and the third round of the Paris Olympics, both in July.
“It’s been a tough few weeks,” said Gauff.
Gauff’s nine double faults on Wednesday were three more than in her opening match against Varvara Gracheva. She only got 43% of her first serves in play on Wednesday, far less than the 64% in her opening match.
Despite the serving problems, Gauff finished her first and second round matches with a 6-0 set score. She is the first reigning US Open champion since Serena Williams in 2013 (title win) to win two bagel sets in her first two matches.
Gauff also improved her major record to 22-3 since beginning her 2023 US Open title campaign, the most major wins by a woman during that time.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
