U.S. tennis sensation and current world No. 3 Coco Gauff did not have the best of starts to her US Open campaign. Despite winning 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 against Ajla Tomljanovic, Gauff made ten double-faults and was broken six times during the match.
This comes after the 21-year-old added Gavin MacMillan to her coaching staff before the tournament to retool her serve. However, with familiar issues plaguing the two-time Grand Slam winner, Gauff was brutally honest post-game.
“It wasn't the best. But I'm happy to get through,” she explained per ESPN.
Gauff struggled to maintain her lead throughout. In the second set, she led on a break but failed to finish things off, while in the third, Gauff led by 5-3. After failing to break Tomljanovic, she double-faulted twice to make it 5-5 before holding on for 7-5.
“I had so many chances. … I was just like, ‘Eventually, one of these is going to go my way,'” she said after the game.
Speaking about her sessions with MacMillan, Gauff explained that she had been serving until her “shoulder was hurting.” However, she has no doubt that she is heading in the right direction.
“I think for me it's trying not to go back to old habits in those tighter moments, and I think I did that today, especially in the third set,” she said.
Gauff comes into the US Open after a quarterfinal exit at the Cincinnati Masters. Her last Grand Slam appearance resulted in a dramatic first-round exit from Wimbledon against Dayana Yastremska, with her serve and high number of double faults being a constant theme.
