WHAT HAPPENED: The last time Coco Gauff competed in Arthur Ashe Stadium, she walked away with the 2023 US Open women’s singles trophy, her maiden Grand Slam title. On Day 1 at the 2024 US Open, Gauff was victorious again, posting a straight-sets win over Varvara Gracheva, 6-2, 6-0.
Gauff, the No. 3 seed, has played Gracheva just once before, at the Auckland Open in January. There, still a teenager, the American also dropped just two games in her defeat of the Frenchwoman. Gauff would be crowned the champion in Auckland, an auspicious start to the year. But while the now-20-year-old American has gone deep into tournaments, her New Zealand win remains her sole 2024 women’s singles title.
Still, Gauff looked every inch the champion walking into Arthur Ashe Stadium—to the roar of an adoring American crowd. Case in point: Her first serve of the match was an ace and she hammered three more aces in her first service game.
For her part, Gracheva, who is No. 66 in the world, looked sanguine while taking to the biggest stage of her career. The 24-year-old played it cool, winning her first service game at love and earning the contest’s first three break-point opportunities, none of which she converted.
It was Gauff who would break her opponent’s serve first, an advantage that appeared to settle her nerves. Although her error tally continued to outstrip her winner count, and she was forced to save break points in nearly every game, Gauff stayed aggressive, while Gracheva remained on defense—and slipped to 2-5 in the first set. Gauff took it, 6-2.
That pattern persisted in the second set, as a rattled-looking Gracheva started donating errors. Down 0-3, the French player had managed to hit just three winners on the match to 21 errors (and zero aces). On the other side of the net, an emboldened Gauff took those stats as an invitation to make quick work of the second set. She closed it out without giving up a game, 6-0.
“I’m just bringing those vibes this year,” Gauff said in her on-court interview about the 2023 “vibes” she rode to the championship. “These are the moments you live for. This is the best tennis I’ve played in a while.”
Later in her post-match press conference, she cited a “good training week” as a key to her solid play. “I felt like I was finding my game,” said Gauff, who characterized her early exit at the Cincinnati Open as a“blessing in disguise.”
“I was able to actually train,” she said. “I do my best results when I come off a training block.”
WHAT IT MEANS: The road ahead doesn’t appear to pose immediate peril. Gauff will face Germany’s Tatjana Maria, a veteran ranked No. 99 in the world. Indeed, the highest-seeded player in Gauff’s quarter of the draw is Czech Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova, seeded No. 8—a potential quarterfinal opponent, should both players advance. Also in that quarter, the roadblock posed by No. 9 seed Maria Sakkari was removed. The Greek player retired, ceding her Round 1 match to Wang Yafan from China, ranked No. 80.
MATCH POINT: Even just stepping onto court today, Gauff made history: She is the first player with six-plus women’s singles main-draw appearances at the US Open before the age of 21 since Martina Hingis in 2001.
