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Coco Gauff, who just a few days ago carried the American flag at the Opening Ceremony alongside LeBron James, is headed to Round 2 in women’s singles, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-0 in 57 minutes.
Gauff, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, loves playing on clay (she’s called it her favorite surface), especially at Roland Garros. And it was easy to tell as she played against Tomljanovic. Gauff was landing balls down the lines and into corners, sliding around the court with confidence. She made the final at Roland Garros in 2022, and just last month won the women’s doubles trophy alongside Jessica Pegula. She doesn’t just know the court, she knows how to be successful on it.
Tomljanovic, ranked No. 123 in the world, doesn’t have the same love for clay as Gauff does. According to the broadcast, it’s her least favorite surface. Despite that, she had a good showing in the first set, finding ways to break Gauff’s rhythm and force a few errors. While Gauff won the set, Tomljanovic prevented Gauff, one of the most athletic and daring players on the women’s tour, from utterly dominating her.
That did not carry over to the second set. Tomljanovic’s game almost entirely collapsed, and Gauff took advantage. She absolutely feasted on Tomljanovic’s errors and took advantage of her flagging speed. And with Gauff turning on the juice, the match was over in a flash. While it took her 34 minutes to win the first set, which had been fairly competitive, it took her just 23 minutes to bagel Tomljanovic and put the match to bed.
In the second round, Gauff will face Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina.
Source Agencies
