After getting her first double bagel win, Coco Gauff followed it up with a solid win over Dayana Yastremska at the 2024 Madrid Open.
The Ukrainian is not an easy opponent to face early on, especially in conditions like Madrid, where the balls fly really fast. She's one of the purest hitters on the WTA Tour, and she can hit some amazing shots.
Yastremska doesn't do it all the time because she would be world number one if she did, but at times, she can certainly trouble players. For the most part, Gauff handled the pressure well, even though Yastremska sometimes did find a breakthrough.
The American started better, taking an early lead as Yastremska had one of her signature slow starts. That snowballed quickly as the American took a 5-0 lead, but Yastremska would actually pull one of those breaks back.
Ultimately, she wouldn't have enough to run around the set fully, but it was still a good effort. The Ukrainian could have used it to find some momentum in the second set, but Gauff's early break cut her momentum fully.
Gauff turned some heads by admitting that her goal is to win Roland Garros, and she's backing that up so far in the Spanish capital. The double bagel win and the win like the one against Yastremska certainly show that she's more than capable of good tennis on the surface.
After all, she played in the French Open final before. The second set saw a significant drop in level from Yastremska, who tried to overpower her opponent, but it just didn't work out.
Yastremska never stabilized after that, so Gauff finished it off easily, winning the match 6-4, 6-1. Next up is compatriot Madison Keys for the American player, which won't be an easy match in the fourth round in Madrid.
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