Coco Gauff continued her US Open title defense with a victory against Tatjana Maria despite hitting several double faults during the match.
There had been concerns about Gauff's form heading into the year's final Grand Slam. After being unable to win a medal at the Olympics, she fell in the early rounds of the Canadian and Cincinnati Open.
Andy Roddick predicted Gauff would not make the quarterfinals of the US Open due to her struggles. That is a bold claim for the 2003 men's singles winner at Flushing Meadows to make after her heroics in New York last year.
Gauff responded to her critics with a dominant triumph against Varvara Gracheva in the opening round. That was one of her best performances in recent months, giving her some confidence.
Her second-round opponent, Maria, was a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2022. However, the German veteran has endured a very tough season. Maria's first-round win ended a run of six consecutive defeats in WTA Tour matches.
The 37-year-old also possesses a unique style. She slices almost all her shots, meaning her opponents consistently play against a different type of speed and spin than they are used to.
Although Gauff's groundstrokes were not at their vintage best in the opening set, she mostly dealt well with Maria's shots in the rallies. However, her serve is what made the first set closer than it needed to be.
Gauff broke to love with some solid hitting in the opening game of the match but immediately relinquished that advantage in the next game. That gave Maria some confidence, and she dug in well throughout the set.
The defending champion broke again in the seventh game to go 4-3 up. That was her best game of the set, hitting some excellent shots, including some volleys when Maria's slices landed short in the court.
Gauff put herself under pressure in her last two service games of the set with the number of double faults she hit. The 20-year-old struck seven in total during the opening set and needed some good fortune to help her in the last two points of the set.
After Gauff saved two set points to get back to deuce, Gauff hit a volley off the frame that spun away and hit the umpire's chair, giving Gauff the point. The German stood in amazement afterward.
Maria was then in the rally at the next point, but the automatic line-calling system malfunctioned, meaning the point had to be replayed. Gauff quickly won the replayed point and took the opening set 6-4.
Unfortunately for Maria, her level dropped in the second set. Gauff, who only landed 47% of her first serves in the first, was still well under 50% in the second, but her opponent could not take advantage.
The German dropped too many balls short in every game. To Gauff's credit, her groundstrokes were impressive in the second set, and she was ruthless in finishing the match quickly.
The world No. 3 prevailed 6-4, 6-0. It was a comfortable night for Gauff, but she will need to be better in subsequent rounds to challenge for the title again.
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