The 2024 US Open continued on Wednesday with a strong list of tennis stars, including Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic, battling for the title at Flushing Meadows.
Both the defending women’s champion and the defending men’s champion experienced some uncomfortable moments – in Djokovic’s case, quite literally – but both advanced to the third round without dropping a set.
After a tough first set, Gauff was able to win in straight sets against Tatjana Maria, outlasting the experienced German player to move into the third round. Although Gauff was able to use her athleticism to her advantage, Maria had to work hard for it in the first set, forcing her all over the court.
Gauff won the first game with relative ease, but soon trailed 1-2 after a strong performance from Maria. Gauff equalized with some strong plays and eventually took a 5-3 lead after winning a long game with several tiebreakers. Maria took advantage of some unforced errors to make it 5-4 and get to within one game of Gauff’s lead. Gauff then stayed creative and gained the advantage after a tricky drop shot into the inside corner.
On set point, Gauff’s confidence seemed to waver and she lost the lead after another double fault, her seventh of the set. A long rally on break point was strangely interrupted by the electronic detection system even though the ball was well inside the line, forcing Gauff and Maria to replay the point. Eventually, Gauff, visibly frustrated with her performance so far, was able to win the first set after Maria hit the ball into the net.
Gauff came out much stronger in the second set and quickly won the first three games. Maria had to work hard in the fourth set, but Gauff was eventually able to take a 4-0 lead. Gauff, who had largely tired out the 37-year-old Maria, then won the next two games to win the match 6-4, 6-0.
Gauff also struggled with errors. She made nine double faults and more than 20 unforced errors (mainly in the first set), which made what should have been an easy win difficult. In the end, however, Gauff was able to take the win.
Minutes later she was back on the training ground.
Djokovic faced a similar problem in his next match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he faced a tough test from fellow Serbian Laslo Djere, winning 6-4, 6-4, 2-0.
Djere seemed to terrify Djokovic for two hours, but kept coming up short. Djokovic, whose upper body was once worked on by coaches, fended off three break points in the first set before breaking himself and stealing the first set.
Djere took a break in the second set, but Djokovic responded with two consecutive breaks to take another set. After taking a 2-0 lead in the third set, Djere retired from the match, having undergone knee surgery earlier this year.
In other key matches on the list, Americans Emma Navarro and Madison Keys both won in straight sets to advance to the third round. On the men’s side, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will face off in an all-American third-round matchup after both won in the second round.
