Third seed Coco Gauff made a statement start to her bid for French Open glory, cruising to a straight-sets win over debutant Julia Avdeeva in just 52 minutes. The American’s 6-1 6-1 victory marked her 50th win at a major and sent her into the second round against Tamara Zidansek with little fuss. “I was just the better player today,” Gauff said afterwards.
Coco Gauff said she was “the better player” after dropping just two games in an emphatic opening French Open win over qualifier Julia Avdeeva.
The third seed, chasing her second career major after winning the US Open last year, rampaged to a 6-1 6-1 victory in just 52 minutes.
“It was a good day for me. She played well, I was just the better player today,” Gauff said on court.
It marked the 20-year-old’s 50th Grand Slam match win, making her the ninth American woman to reach the landmark before her 21st birthday.
Next up for Gauff is Slovenian world No. 131 Tamara Zidansek, who defeated Alison Van Uytvanck in three sets to reach the second round.
And she was particularly pleased with her improved drop shots since bringing Brad Gilbert into her coaching team last summer.
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‘I was a better player today’ – Gauff delighted with opening victory at Roland-Garros
“Brad has been trying to help me be a good drop-shotter,” Gauff said.
“I’ve been trying to do better at that and today I think I made three drop shots and missed one – that’s pretty good for me, sometimes it’s 50/50. Actually, maybe four.”
Gauff broke Avdeeva at the first time of asking in an ominous sign of things to come for the 21-year-old, who was making her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
The Russian found herself 5-0 down before she managed to get a hold on the board to dodge the bagel, but things did not improve after Gauff served out with a love hold.
Gauff broke in the opening game of set two and although Avdeeva this time managed to reduce the deficit sooner at 2-1, a run of four straight games from the relentless American sent her through before the clock struck one hour.
It was a steep learning curve for Avdeeva, who had never featured in any tour-level qualifying draw before this week, let alone a Grand Slam.
Gauff won 96% of her points on first serve and produced three aces and 10 winners in her first appearance on Court Suzanna-Lenglen since a roof was added ahead of this year’s tournament.
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Gauff breaks Avdeeva early in the first set to seize advantage
“I really liked it with the roof closed, the ball echoes a lot so it makes it feel like it’s going faster than it probably actually is,” Gauff said.
“I heard that the roof was modelled after Suzanne Lenglen’s skirt, so I think that’s a really cool detail that most people probably don’t know.”
