Coco Gauff kept getting herself in some trouble with shaky serving in the French Open’s second round, and she kept putting herself back in position to win by breaking right back Thursday.
The second-seeded Gauff, pursuing her first title at Roland-Garros, eliminated 172nd-ranked qualifier Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes on a partly cloudy, warm afternoon in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Amid a soundtrack of sirens from nearby streets and roars from nearby courts, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff only managed to produce 11 winners, five fewer than her far-less-experienced opponent. Gauff also finished with 23 unforced errors, a total that included a half-dozen double-faults.
Against Valentova, an 18-year-old who won the junior title at the French Open last year and was competing in the main draw at a major tournament for the first time, Gauff got broken five times. Four of those came in the second set – and each time, the 21-year-old Floridian managed to immediately rebound to claim Valentova’s very next service game.
“There is a sense of urgency after getting broken, for sure. You don’t want to get too far behind. You don’t want to get two breaks down. You can live with one break. But she’s definitely got to serve better and do a better job of holding as the tournament progresses,” said Gauff’s father, Corey. “She’s probably been one of the best returners of serve on the tour the last two to three months. But that’s not what you want. You want to hold first, for sure. It’s not really a break until you hold.”
On Saturday, 2022 runner-up Gauff will try to reach the fourth round in Paris for the fifth consecutive appearance, facing another Czech player, Marie Bouzkova.
What else happened at the French Open on Thursday?
Other winners in the women’s bracket included No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who was the runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the 2019 final at Roland-Garros. Vondrousova, who is unseeded this year, eliminated No. 25 Magdalena Frech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 6 and then went out to sit in the stands at Lenglen to watch Gauff vs. Valentova. In men’s play, No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended the career of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet by beating the Frenchman 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Arthur Fils won, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic was in late action against Corentin Moutet of France.
Who is on the schedule at Roland-Garros on Friday?
No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will begin third-round play at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Day 6 by facing Olga Danilovic, while the night match in the main stadium features defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against Damir Dumhur, who hurt his left knee during a fall in his second-round win. Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive championship by playing Jaqueline Cristian, 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko of Canada takes on Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe faces No. 23 Sebastian Korda in an all-American matchup.
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