French Open 2021: Coco Gauff off to a winning start, defeats Aleksandra Krunic in straight sets
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Coco Gauff
American teen sensation, Coco Gauff gets her French Open campaign underway on Tuesday, as she gets the better of Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia in straight sets 7-6(11),6-4 to move into the second round. Having won the title in Parma, this is also her sixth straight win.
The first set was contested very tightly. It started off slow with both players holding serve effectively. Gauff was particularly struggling with her serve but managed to hold it until her third service game. Krunic broke her serve and took a very important 3-2 lead. But the 17-year old showed her metal in the very next game, drawing level at 3-3.
The remainder of the set was on serve, with both players making no errors on serve and holding efficiently. As a result, the opening set went into the tie-breaker. Gauff started with a bang in the tie-breaker, taking a mini break upfront a cruising to a 5-1 lead at the change of ends. But a late surge from Krunic saw her win 5 points in a row to take a 6-5 lead. But Gauff saved set points and the tie breaker again went on serve. Eventually after 24 points played, the American won the tie breaker 13-11.
Coco Gauff moves into the second round, will face Wang Qiang
Gauff went guns blazing right from the first game in the second set. He broke Krunic twice in two games and was running away with a 4-0 lead. But soon Krunic got into the game, holding serve and breaking Gauff to get a break back. She tried very hard, pushing the the young American to her limits, but couldn’t get another break back because of Gauff’s solid defense.
It was all too late for her anyway, as she found herself vulnerable on the backhand side. Gauff eventually served for the set at 5-4 and despite facing a break point, came out the winner, winning the match in straight sets 7-6(11),6-4.
Coco Gauff will now face Wang Qiang of China in the second round, an opponent she beat at the Parma final ten days back. Wang defeated fellow Asian Hsieh Su-wei in the first round in three sets 2-6,6-4,7-5.
Also read: Rafael Nadal starts French Open 2021 with a bang, wins in straight sets to advance into 2nd round
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Lakshya Chopra
(2611 Articles Published)