NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff kept wiping the tears welling in her eyes between points in her second-round match at the U.S. Open on Thursday night, trying to stay composed, trying to give herself a chance to win.
Gauff's serving troubles were again an issue, just as they were two nights earlier, just as they've been for a while now. The two-time Grand Slam champion teamed up with a new coach recently to try to fix that aspect of her game, and while there clearly is still work to be done, Gauff did figure out how to stay in the tournament, beating Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-2 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Honestly, today was a tough match for me. But I'm just happy with how I was able to manage. It’s been rough couple weeks,” Gauff said during her on-court interview, before pausing as she began to cry.
In the first set, Gauff, a 21-year-old from Florida, double-faulted seven times and lost four of her six service games — including to trail 5-4 and then 6-5. But she broke right back each of those times — Vekic took a medical timeout to have her right shoulder looked at — and then was superior in the tiebreaker.
After that set, Gauff headed to the locker room to splash some water on her face and regain focus.
It worked wonders.
She reset herself, and the second set went much more smoothly, in front a crowd that included star gymnast Simone Biles. Gauff said she was inspired by seeing Biles was on hand.
Just one double-fault the rest of the way. Zero times broken, winning all four of her service games.
Gauff won the U.S. Open in 2023 as a teenager, then added a second major trophy at the French Open in June. At the most recent Slam, Wimbledon, Gauff exited in the first round.
Her serving woes resurface from time to time, including when 19 double-faults contributed to a loss that ended her title defense in New York a year ago. She leads the tour with more than 300 this season — 23 in one match not long ago — and hired biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, credited with rebuilding No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka's serve, shortly before this U.S. Open.
In the first round, Gauff needed three sets to get past Ajla Tomljanovic, in part because of double-faults.
But like in that match, Gauff's defense and superiority at the baseline carried her past Vekic.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Latest
Featured
