Defending champion Coco Gauff is safely into the second round of the US Open following a comfortable 6-2, 6-0 victory over Varvara Gracheva on Arthur Ashe on Monday afternoon.
Gauff, who comes into the US Open as World No. 3 following a poor run of recent form, said Monday’s straight-sets victory was the best tennis that she has played “in a while” after disappointing early exits in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier in August in addition to an early-round exit at the Olympic Games.
That poor recent form was evident in the opening set, with Gauff saving break points in each of her first three service games and double faulting five times throughout the first set.
An eventual 6-2 victory appeared to simultaneously settle Gauff’s nerves and deflate Gracheva, however, with the 20-year-old racing through the second set to seal a straight sets victory in just 66 minutes.
Gauff’s recent struggles appeared to affect her early on, with Gracheva forcing three break points in Gauff’s opening service game.
She saved all three of them, however, before breaking Gracheva in the very next game after several loose points from her French opponent.
Gauff handed Gracheva an immediate opportunity to break back, double-faulting twice in her next service game, but the World No. 88 could only send a forehand long on each occasion, and Gauff held on once again.
Another double fault handed Gracheva a sixth break point of the set in Gauff’s third service game with the American leading 3-2, but a long forehand against proved to be Gracheva’s downfall as Gauff held on for a third time.
That was about as good as it got for Gracheva, with Gauff sealing the double break in the next game before sealing the first set with an ace down the T.
The first-set defeat appeared to knock the wind out of Gracheva’s sails as Gauff brought up a 0-40 lead in the opening game of the second set, but the Frenchwoman showed grit to stave off all three break points. She could not save a fourth, however, crashing a forehand into the net to hand Gauff an early break.
Gauff never looked back, comfortably holding before breaking once again – again courtesy of a Gracheva forehand into the net.
Gracheva handed Gauff a third break of the set with two consecutive double faults as the match began to fizzle out before the reigning champion sealed a comfortable win, producing back-to-back aces to save two break points before a 10th ace of the match brought up match point. Gracheva, fittingly, brought proceedings to an end with another loose forehand.
Gauff now advances to the second round, where she will face Germany’s Tatjana Maria, who recorded a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory over Solana Sierra on Monday.
