Coco Gauff's track record since winning the French Open has been rocky at best, with the two-time Grand Slam winner bowing out early from every tournament she's played in since. Gauff fought hard to ensure her second-round match against Danielle Collins didn't end the same way, but the Montreal-set contest definitely tested the young tennis star before she won 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.
“It was a tough battle out there,” Gauff acknowledged. “Making serves into the court was the toughest challenge.”
Gauff ended up serving a season-worst 23 double faults throughout the match, putting up the most double faults in a WTA Tour showdown since 2019. But even though she managed to hold on for the victory, Gauff was still unhappy with the path she took to get to the finish line.
“It was a frustrating match for me,” Gauff said. “I just felt like I was practicing well, and then I didn't think that transferred today.
“Maybe if I cut [the number of double faults] in half, it would be a quicker match for me,” she continued. “I thought that I was playing well except for that part of the game, but I felt like off the ground, I was doing pretty well.”
But after being just two points away from defeat, the 21-year-old is remaining optimistic heading into Round 3.
“Hopefully, I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way, and I can come back stronger in the next round.”
As for her feelings on facing her fellow American, Gauff gave Collins nothing but credit for her play in her post-match interview.
“This is my first time playing Danielle, I know her very well,” Gauff said. “She is obviously a tough competitor and great tennis player, great person. I got to know her really well at the United Cup, and she is always nice to me.
“Danielle is a great ball striker, and for me to break her as many times as I did, there were definitely some positives to take from today.”
Coco Gauff will take on her next opponent Veronika Kudermetova on Thursday.
