Coco Gauff is through into the third round of the 2023 Madrid Open after dominant win over Yulia Putintseva in the second round.
The young American experienced a few disappointing losses recently, especially when she managed to win only three games against Paula Badosa in Madrid. However, that loss is already behind her, and Gauff moved to another WTA 1000 event, this time in Rome, Italy.
As the sixth seed, the American had a bye in the first round of the tournament and could use spare time to prepare well for her second-round opponent, who turned out to be Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan after she defeated qualifier Viktoriya Tomova in the first round.
But Gauff didn't have only tennis on her mind as she had to deal with an unpleasant situation. After being snubbed for a speech during the trophy ceremony in Madrid, the teenager had to respond to questions about the incident also in Rome, calling for organizers to take the criticism.
But that didn't stop the prodigy from focusing on her second-round match, flying starting in a big style. Gauff lost only two points on her serve in the first set and posed a danger every time her opponent was serving. Overall, she had nine break points in the first set and after using three, she won the opener 6-0.
But Gauff knew she can't stop applying pressure on her opponent's serve. And even though Putintseva was able to win her first game at the start of the second set, she couldn't add any more as the American continue to dictate the pace of the match.
After two more breaks, this time with 100% success rate, Gauff won the match 6-0, 6-1 in exactly 60 minutes to move into the third round of the 2023 Italian Open in Rome.
Although still without a coach, the American will prepare for her third-round meeting against either the 27th-seeded Marie Bouzkova or her former doubles partner and good friend Catherine McNally.
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