American tennis stars Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula played their first-round doubles match at the US Open on Wednesday and won — though not exactly when Gauff thought they did.
Ahead of compatriots Quinn Gleason and Elizabeth Mandlik 4–1 in the second set, Gauff hit a return winner to take a 5–1 lead. Then she went to hug Pegula, thinking the game was over. Pegula informed her of the mistake and Gauff promptly doubled over laughing.
“She thought it was over,” laughed one of the US Open presenters. “She’s worried.”
“She was getting ready for the hug, that Coco,” the other announcer added. “There’s still one game to go.”
One game later it was indeed over.
Coco Gauff (left) and Jessica Pegula (right) laughed together after Gauff’s blunder Wednesday
Jessica Pegula (right) and partner Coco Gauff defeated Quinn Gleason and Elizabeth Mandlik
That was one of two wins for Gauff on Wednesday, as she also advanced to the third round after defeating 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.
Gauff has been red hot since he fell out of Wimbledon in the first round in July. Since then she has won tournaments in Cincinnati and Washington – victories she owes to her painful loss in London.
“I used to think every game was life or death,” she told reporters, adding that she realized losing is okay, “as long as you learn from it.”
Gauff hasn’t been getting much opportunity to learn that sort of thing lately – she’s won 13 of her past 14 matches – and yet her game has been showing a lot of growth lately.
‘It is clear that maturity plays a role in this. The more games you have, the more experience you have,” said Gauff, who is seeded sixth at Flushing Meadows and is on course for a possible quarterfinal showdown against defending champion Iga Swiatek, also in the third round after Wednesday in straight sets. to have won.
“Mirra, she’s going to be a great player,” continued Gauff, whose breakthrough came at age 15 when she qualified at Wimbledon and reached the fourth round. “The more matches she has, the more experience she has.”
And then Gauff closed with a big compliment: “I really see myself in her.”
Gauff and Pegula could eventually meet in the Singles draw where both are contenders
The two teenagers faced each other at the French Open about three months ago in what was a much tighter affair, playing three sets before Gauff – Swiatek’s runner-up at Roland Garros in 2022 – took victory.
On Wednesday at the start, it looked like they might be heading for another competitive outing, by the looks of the opening game: Andreeva broke right up and hit a huge backhand down the line to pull a Gauff forehand into the net with a 19-stroke. exchange, then a 190 mph serve is brought into play, leading to a netted backhand.
“I didn’t feel like she had changed” since they last met, Andreeva said afterwards.
Gauff smiles at Pegula after hitting a winner
Oh, but Gauff does. She’s prepared to be more aggressive early in the scoring – going to the net 18 times and taking 15 of those points. She has better footwork on her forehand and isn’t afraid to go for that shot.
Those are two improvements made since the first-round defeat at Wimbledon in July, tweaks that came about while working with new coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert, who you could hear urging Gauff to make things more physical. from his front row seat. a player guest box.
The surface also changed – from the slower clay of Paris to the faster hard courts of Flushing Meadows – and Andreeva thought that this time had more to do with the rather different result.
She also complained, “This match I made more mistakes than usual. …I could have played better.’
After that one poor game against Andreeva, Gauff got into it quickly and looked much more formidable than he did in a difficult three-setter against Laura Siegemund that lasted 2 hours and 51 minutes in Monday night’s first round. In terms of time, this one took less than half as long.
Gauff’s serve clicked; she was never broken again. Her forehand was up to the task, even though Andreeva repeatedly went after that side, something Gauff has called the old “playbook” to her. In extended back-and-forth movements, usually from the baseline, Gauff was superior.
She won 14 of 20 runs that lasted nine strokes or more, to as many as 30 shots. Overall, Gauff collected a 24-7 lead on winners.
“Playing a younger person reminded me how far I’ve come,” said Gauff, who plays next No. 32 Elise Mertens, “and I should be proud of myself.”