Coco Gauff Survives Late Push From Inspired Burrage To Win Again At Australian Open
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Coco Gauff has yet to face a proper challenger on the court this season, as she keeps steamrolling past one opponent after another.
Gauff started her season at the United Cup, and with Taylor Fritz, she was able to win the competition for Team USA. That included a win over the WTA World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
On top of that, Gauff didn't even lose a set against any of her opponents, and she carried that form to the Australian Open as well. In the first round, she easily bested her compatriot Sofia Kenin.
In the second round, Gauff took on Great Britain's Jodie Burrage, who outplayed Leolia Jeanjean in the first round of the tournament. It was clear who was the favorite, not just by looking at their ranking but also by the play in the first few games.
Gauff didn't run. She sprinted towards a 3-0 lead, and leading 40-15, she could have increased her lead to 4-0 already. She couldn't do that, and it came at a price, as Burrage was able to recover the lost break in the following game.
But Gauff was then flawless for the remainder of the first set. She broke her opponent's serve and won the following eight points on her serve to control the end of the first set, winning it 6-3.
It already seemed that Gauff was cruising towards a very simple win in the second set. She started with a break, and after saving a break point to lead 2-0, the 20-year-old American had another chance to break and lead 3-0.
Although she didn't use it, at 6-3, 3-1, things looked very comfortable for the 2023 US Open champion. But she surprisingly started struggling. When serving while leading 3-2, Gauff started with a double fault.
Her opponent then added two winners, and when facing three consecutive break points, Gauff made an unforced error, which sealed the break back for Burrage. She then held her serve to lead 4-3 in the second set, which was the first time she led in a set in the match.
The following game was crucial, and both players were well aware of that. It was the longest game of the match, and initially, Gauff kept her opponent in it only because she hit two double faults.
She then had to face a break point, but saved it with an ace. But that was not enough to win the game. Gauff was under plenty of pressure, and she couldn't deal with it well, losing the game and going from 3-1 up to 3-5 down.
Although Burrage had a one-break advantage, her task to win the second set was not simple at all. In 2024, Gauff was the best-returning player on the WTA Tour when she won 45.7% of her opponents' service games and 48.5% of points in those games. She erases her opponents' advantage and essentially turned it into a coin flip.
On top of that, the British player felt the pressure, so Gauff could regain control of the match, breaking back and later leveling the score at 5-5.
Even a lucky net cord bounce couldn't help Burrage stay calm. The game on her serve reached a deuce, after which she hit two consecutive double faults to lose her serve.
Gauff then controlled the remainder of the match to win it 6-3, 7-5. She set up a third-round meeting with the 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez, who she beat already once this year.
