The American Coco Gauff, 19, liquidated the dreams of the young tennis promise Mirra Andreeva, 16, to advance to the third round of the Flushing Open with a resounding 6-3, 6-2 this Wednesday on Center Court of Arthur Ashe.
For this match Gauff did not have to deal with as much drama as in the opening game where she dropped the first set.
Always supported by the public that sees in her the tennis player who can take the lead in this era of the US Open after the legacy left by the Williams sisters, Gauff demonstrated the confidence to take the key points with powerful serves, arrivals at the net and dominating the long rallies.
Although at the start of the first set, Andreeva, of Russian origin and ranked 63rd in the WTA ranking, broke Gauff’s serve from the outset, she could not overcome Gauff’s experience and quick reaction capacity, which she almost recovered. immediately.
However, Andreeva -despite not finding her game and failing a lot on her first serve- in certain passages of the match made it clear that she will give for more.
Gauff herself stated at the end of the meeting that “she (Mirra) has a great future ahead of her. I hope that the public will support her because I am sure that she will be back in this tournament ”.
For this match, Gauff said she knew she had to go out and play a “very aggressive game” because Andreeva is the type of tennis player you can’t give space to.
Both met this year at Roland Garros, where Gauff came out ahead but in three sets. The first was won by Andreeva.
On how comfortable she feels on the hard court in Flushing, Gauff, ranked number 6, said: “It helps me a lot because I’m used to playing in this hot climate. Especially today he has helped me a lot with my serve”.
Regarding how his career has matured in the last three years, Gauff, who has just savored the glory of winning the Cincinnati tournament, said that he wants to maintain his good level but especially “enjoy the wins and losses, because when one loses learns”.
“Now I feel like I can even win even when I’m not playing my best tennis,” she said.
Her next match will be against Belgian Elise Mertens, 28, who left American Danielle Collins on the road in a match that lasted almost three hours (3-6, 7-6, 6-1).