WHAT HAPPENED: Coco Gauff overcame patchy form, and a dangerous opponent in Donna Vekic, to reach the third round of the 2025 US Open.
In the primetime Arthur Ashe Stadium slot on Thursday night, Gauff survived a physically and emotionally draining first set against the former world No. 17 before going on to win, 7-6(5), 6-2.
Her serve, which she is currently refining with biomechanist Gavin MacMillan, remains a work in progress, as evidenced by the seven double faults she committed in the opening set. The reigning Roland Garros champion’s quality nevertheless shone through, and after navigating the toughest part of the match, she ran away with the second set against a wayward Vekic to prevail.
Having wept during a changeover late in the first set as her frustrations bubbled over, Gauff grew emotional once again during her on-court interview as she addressed the fans—and received huge cheers in response.
“Honestly, today was a tough match for me, but I’m just happy with how I was able to manage. It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” she admitted. “I’m just happy to be back on this court, and you guys bring me so much joy. You guys really help me a lot. I’m doing this for myself, but I’m also doing it for you, and no matter how tough it gets inside, you can do it.”
The reigning Roland Garros champion’s quality nevertheless shone through, and after navigating the toughest part of the match, she ran away with the second set against a wayward Vekic to prevail.
Vekic served nine double faults in the opening set, but her issues may have been explained by a troublesome right arm and shoulder, for which she called a physio on court to treat deep in the frame.
During that medical timeout, Gauff practised her serving, and perhaps it helped in the ensuing tiebreak, during which she committed just one double fault and not a single unforced error off the ground.
When Gauff got an early break in the second set and consolidated for a 3-1 lead, it seemed she had the match finally under control.
She was assisted by the fact that Vekic’s level dropped; the world No. 49 sprayed 15 unforced errors in the second set, meaning Gauff’s lead was never truly threatened.
WHAT IT MEANS: At times it wasn’t pretty, but no player is better at winning without their best than Gauff.
Just as she did in a three-hour slugfest against Ajla Tomljanovic in Round 1, Gauff locked down when she needed to. Her game held up to Vekic’s scrutiny in the tiebreak and she counterpunched impressively in the second, forcing Vekic to press, and miss.
Whether Gauff gains confidence from this latest victory remains to be seen, but as the match progressed she attained a greater sense of calm and clarity and she has given herself another opportunity on court in two day’s time.
“I was just trying to tell myself to breathe, and honestly, just putting another ball in the court and just trying to remember the things that I do well,” Gauff explained of her mindset when the first set was on a knife-edge.
“I don’t remember a lot at the end of the first set, but it’s kind of amazing that I was able to get out of that one. Once I was able to reset, and went to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face, after that I felt a lot better out here.”
MATCH POINT: Gauff has progressed to the third round at the US Open for the fourth consecutive year and has now won 79% of her main-draw matches in New York, thanks to an impressive 19-5 win-loss record.
The 2023 champion will aim to repeat her fourth-round run last year when she next faces 28th seed Magdalena Frech.
