NEW YORK, Aug 29 (v7n)- Defending champion Coco Gauff advanced to the third round of the US Open on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Tatjana Maria, ranked 99th in the world. Despite the win, Gauff struggled with her serve, recording nine double faults and only getting 44 percent of her first serves in play, describing the match as "annoying."
Gauff expressed her appreciation for Maria but acknowledged the challenges of facing her: "I love Tatjana, her family. She's very annoying to play," she said. She explained that Maria's slicing style required her to generate all the power, making it more physically taxing than it might appear. Gauff noted that she had to navigate through 20 unforced errors, which doubled her 10 winners, and faced difficulties in her service games, even double-faulting on her first set point.
Maria, a seasoned 37-year-old veteran, was unable to capitalize on Gauff's struggles, converting only one of five break chances during the match. Gauff managed to escape the first set despite these challenges and found her rhythm in the second set, finishing with 25 winners and winning the last seven games.
Looking ahead, Gauff is set to face Elina Svitolina in the third round, who defeated Anhelina Kalinina with a score of 6-1, 6-2. Gauff acknowledged the challenge Svitolina poses, recalling their tough encounter earlier in the season in Auckland.
After her match, Gauff returned to practice, focusing on her serve. "I just hit serves," she mentioned, recognizing that her serving performance needed improvement despite her overall success in the match. She noted, "I got lucky. I think I only got broken once, but probably could have, should have gotten broken a couple of more times."