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Coco Gauff wiped away a flood of tears after a litany of service errors to defeat unseeded Croatian Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to labour into the third round of the US Open.
Gauff has teamed up with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan and although she is still adjusting to a retooled serve, Gauff had to battle hard to edge out former Wimbledon semi-finalist Vekic in a dramatic evening session encounter.
“Honestly, today was a tough match for me. But I’m just happy with how I was able to manage. It’s been rough couple weeks,” Gauff said during her on-court interview, before pausing as she began to cry.
“You guys bring me so much joy I’m doing this for myself but also for you. No matter how tough it gets inside, you can do it.”
Both players struggled for rhythm in the first set under the primetime glare of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff reined in her unforced errors on serve just enough to clinch it via a tie-break.
The 2023 champion had wept into her towel during a break in play after being broken in the ninth game and later practiced her delivery when Vekic was receiving treatment from the physio for a right arm problem.
After a combined 16 double faults in the opening set, both players eventually composed themselves but it was Gauff who pulled away to build a 3-1 lead.
The American, who had also laboured in her first round match against Ajla Tomljanovic, capitalised on a string of errors from Vekic to break to love once more before securing victory, avenging her third-round loss to the Croatian at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Gauff found a way through after seeking inspiration from gymnastics legend Simone Biles
Gauff also gave credit to gymnastics great Simone Biles, who was watching from the stands.
Biles overcame a mental block known as ‘twisties’ at the Tokyo Olympics, recovering to win three gold medals in Paris last summer.
“I saw her, she helped me pull it out,” said Gauff. “I was thinking, if she can go on a six-inch beam with all the pressures in the word, I can hit the ball in, I don’t even know how big this court is. It brought me a bit of calm knowing all the things she went through mentally.”
The American next faces Polish 28th seed Magdalena Frech, where she will hope to avoid the same drama.
“I think I just show people what it’s like to be a human, and I have bad days, but I think it’s more about how you get up after those bad moments and how you show up after that,” she said.
“I think today I showed that I can get up after feeling the worst I’ve ever felt on the court.”
Venus claims first Grand Slam victory for four years
Venus Williams won a women’s doubles match at the US Open for the first time in more than a decade
Venus Williams rolled back the years with an impressive performance and she agreed to team up with Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the opening round of the women’s doubles..
Facing sixth seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok – who won the title last year with Jelena Ostapenko – and Ellen Perez, 45-year-old Williams and Fernandez fought back from a first-set deficit to claim a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win.
It is Williams’ first win at a major since beating Mihaela Buzarnescu in singles at Wimbledon four years ago, while her last slam doubles victory came with her sister Serena at the French Open back in 2018.
“Thank you to my partner, best partner I’ve ever played with outside of Serena,” said a beaming Williams.
Williams team up with Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the women’s doubles
The American won 14 Grand Slam titles alongside Serena, with the most recent coming at Wimbledon nine years ago.
Asked about Fernandez’s approach, Williams said: “I couldn’t believe it, it was 10pm. I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m not very good at doubles’.
“I really don’t know what I’m doing, I just try really hard. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be back here.”
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Venus Williams spoke about her goals ahead of her return to the US Open at the age of 45
Fernandez is best known for having lost to Emma Raducanu in the singles final here four years ago and she made a little-and-large combination with Williams that turned out to be very effective.
“I don’t think we came in with a plan,” said the Canadian, who is 23 years younger than Williams.
“We tried to figure things out in the beginning. It was a great atmosphere, a lot of fun. I’m just honoured to be sharing a court with Venus.
“It was nerve-racking, exciting. The night before I was shaking. Once we started, everything started flowing so it was good.”
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