Coco Gauff finally knows who she'll play in the first round of the US Open, and it will be Laura Siegemund, who is a qualifier.
When the US Open draw was made a few days ago, Coco Gauff had no idea who she would play in the opening round of the event. She was given a qualifier at a time when the qualifications were still going on. It could have been anybody in the qualifying draw, but in the end, it's Laura Siegemund.
Siegemund is an experienced veteran on the WTA Tour who can play excellent tennis but will likely struggle against the athleticism of Gauff. The German won three matches in the qualifiers to book a spot in the main draw, and she took down some solid players.
The confidence should be good, but Gauff has been playing on a really high level for a while now. She's arguably been the best-performing player in the past month, which is great timing for the US Open.
She has a clear goal of winning the event, so starting off strongly would be good, especially since she apparently has the easiest draw, at least according to the AI Draw Analysis. It's not the first time they will play, as we saw this matchup three years ago in Auckland.
Siegemund actually won that match in three sets, which is quite surprising but makes sense. Gauff was very young, nowhere close to being the player she is today, while Siegemund was a bit younger, more capable of handling the energy of Gauff.
Things will likely look very different this time around as Gauff is playing on a very high level right now and just is the better player. She will want to assert her dominance quite early and be done with the match quickly without any complications.
She might face youngster Mirra Andreeva in the second round so getting it done quickly will be a priority.
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