Australian Open: Gauff cruises as Shelton refuses comment on Djokovic gesture

With more confidence in her serve thanks to some advice from Andy Roddick, Coco Gauff began her quest for back-to-back grand slam titles on Monday with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova at the Australian Open.

The 19-year-old American, who won her first major at the US Open in September, achieved victory in exactly one hour.

“I was a little nervous the first set,” said fourth-seeded Gauff. “I think I did well when I came back, but towards the end of the set I found my serve. When I was nervous at 3-3, I told myself, ‘I feel good, I look good, so just have fun.’ That helped me relax a bit.”

Gauff dropped just one point on her serve in the second set and said Roddick, a fellow US Open champion, recently gave her some serving tips.

“It was really cool,” she said. “He’s a really chill guy. I’ve met him before, but never at that level. I went to North Carolina for two days to see him. It was a really nice two days. I think my service has improved. He is probably one of the best servers in history.”

Another US hope, Ben Shelton, is more concerned about his next match at the Australian Open than what Novak Djokovic may have said or done after the US Open semi-final last September.

The pair could meet again in the fourth round at Melbourne Park, where Djokovic is aiming for his 11th Australian Open title.

The 16th seed Shelton, who reached the quarterfinals at his first Australian Open last year, defeated Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6, 7-5 on Monday. In the second round he meets Australian Chris O’Connell.

This week, comments attributed to Djokovic by French sports newspaper L’Equipe emerged, saying the 24-time major winner mocked Shelton in New York in retaliation for some unsportsmanlike provocation and disrespect.

After winning the semi-final, Djokovic imitated it the American celebratory gesture ‘Hang up the phone’. He then pointed to his temple and pounded his chest with his fist. Djokovic said at the time that he was just copying the celebration.

Shelton had gained a following during the tournament for his victory celebrations, during which he pretended his hand was an old-fashioned telephone receiver that he was slamming down.

During a press conference after Shelton’s opening victory on Monday, a journalist read out L’Equipe’s comments.

“I feel like I’ve been asked about it constantly over the last four or five months,” Shelton said. “I prefer to let it sink in and move on. We are in Australia now and we are at the Australian Open and not the US Open anymore. “I’m just focusing on the Australian Open and I’m happy and grateful to be here.”

When asked if he has ever deliberately done things to provoke a rival, Shelton said he just wants to enjoy himself on the tennis court.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion about who I am or how I behave,” he said. “But yes, I don’t have an answer to your question.”

As for the timing of Djokovic’s comments, Shelton said he had fielded questions about it in the past due to the media interview environment and that it’s “not like I want to talk about this openly or I would even bring it up .”

Among the men, there were also victories on Monday for the Americans Sebastian Korda, Chris Eubanks and Aleksandar Kovacevic. US women had a tougher day: wildcard McCartney Kessler joined Gauff in the second round, but there were defeats for Kayla Day, Taylor Townsend, Bernarda Pera, Claire Liu and Katie Volynets.