Coco Gauff made a solid start to the Australian Open as she secured a relatively straightforward victory on Rod Laver Arena, moving past Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round at Melbourne Park.
Gauff, the third seed, put together a solid opening performance as she attempts to follow up her second grand slam triumph at Roland Garros last year by winning her first title in Melbourne. Despite her usual serving difficulties at the beginning and end of the match, Gauff completely outmatched her Uzbek challenger from the baseline with her supreme defensive skills and court sense, smartly choosing her moments to step inside the baseline and dictate.
Afterwards, Gauff explained how her ambitions have helped her to manage the nerves that come with first round grand slam matches: “I have lost in first rounds before and I’ve always been able to pick it up so I try not to put so much pressure on myself in the first rounds.
“I think at this point, I just want to win the tournament. So whether I lose first round or in the final, I think that will be as satisfying. So, until then, it’s OK.”
The past five months have been some of the most interesting of Gauff’s career, with the 21-year-old taking the decision to rebuild her serve mid-season after the stroke capitulated. Her service issues reached such a crisis that she opted to split with one of her previous coaches, Matt Daly, and hire the biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan on the eve of the US Open. She has spent this period remodelling her serve and streamlining the motion.
Gauff’s first points on Rod Laver Arena this year evidenced the challenge ahead. Her only shot of the One Point Slam was a miserable serve dumped into the bottom of the net, immediately eliminating her from the tournament. She then began the match against Rakhimova, a Russian-born player who changed nationalities to Uzbekistan this year, by striking three double faults in her opening service game.
However, Gauff also found a way through that long service game to secure a hold. Between her defensive skills, variation, world class backhand and much-improved forehand, she has ample quality in her game to draw upon even when not every part is clicking. After failing to serve out the match, she bounced back immediately, breaking Rakhimova’s serve for the sixth time to move on with minimal drama. Gauff will next face the Serb Olga Danilovic, who defeated Venus Williams on Sunday night, in their second round match on Wednesday.
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