Coco Gauff said the evening matches at Arthur Ashe are “a little more nerve-wracking” and the reigning US Open women’s champion had to shake off her early nerves on Wednesday night as she eventually defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the third round.
The 20-year-old Gauff – who won her first Grand Slam last year – is now in New York, and the attention she receives is occasionally clearly visible in the Arthur Ashe spots.
The American top woman was broken on her first serve, struggled to get her first serve in the entire opening set and had to survive three deuces to avoid being broken for the second time in a row.
But it didn’t take long for Gauff to find her feet in this match, winning 6-4, 6-0 to defend her US Open title.
With the first set tied at 3-3, Gauff earned a second crucial break against the slice-happy Maria to take the lead and never looked back.
Coco Gauff advances to the third round of the US Open after defeating Germany’s Tatjana Maria
Maria tried to slow down points with constant slices from Gauff, but that ultimately proved too much
The German tried to slow down the points and use Gauff’s strength as much as possible, but that ultimately proved futile as Gauff got out of her own way (she made seven double faults and 20 unforced errors in the first set).
It wasn’t a perfect night, but the crowd got to see her at her best when she hit a sublime drop shot to take a big winning shot, putting her up 5-3 in the first set.
It’s unlikely she’ll repeat the shot herself often, but she’ll certainly want to carry the bravado of that moment into her next match, as she aims to become the first woman to repeat it in New York since Serena Williams from 2012-14.
Gauff isn’t old enough to buy a drink in the US yet, but this – packed nightclubs, where thousands of fans gather to see her, glass of honey in hand – is now her reality for the next few years.
On Tuesday she didn’t always handle the pressure smoothly, but in the end she did more than enough.
Even in the closing stages of the first set, Gauff struggled, missing an easy slam at 15-30 but eventually taking the lead with difficulty after two more deuces.
That turned out to be a breakthrough, as Gauff started the second set by breaking Maria on her first two chances. From that point on, things got a lot easier, as she put down a dominant second set.