Coco Gauff overcame a huge scare to record a hard-fought, three-set victory against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in a jittery US Open first round at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night.
The 2023 champion was far from her best in an error-strewn display against the World 79 but did just about enough to avoid a second successive first-round exit at a grand slam after falling at the first hurdle at Wimbledon a month ago.
Tuesday’s first-round match was defined not by eye-catching winners, but by unforced errors, with both players producing far more mistakes than moments of quality. It was a contest that frequently produced lengthy and draining rallies that saw both players make uncharacteristic mistakes.
Both players also struggled on serve throughout, with Gauff worryingly broken on six occasions. She also made a concerning 59 unforced errors throughout while hitting just 29 winners, registering 10 double faults against just four aces. Tomljanovic, meanwhile, produced just 12 winners against 56 unforced errors.
Ultimately, Gauff held her nerve in the deciding set to take the grueling contest 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 in two hours and 57 minutes.
Gauff, who swapped former coach Matt Daly for Gavin MacMillan just a week before the tournament, said she has spent a “mentally exhausting” week working on her serve after struggling at Wimbledon and Cincinnati recently. She acknowledged that her performance was far from her best but praised Tomljanovic for being a “tough” opponent.
“She was getting so many balls back,” Gauff said afterward. “It wasn’t the best, but I’m happy to get through to the next round.”
Tomljanovic, a quarter-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2021 and the vanquisher of Serena Williams in 2022, was about as tricky a first-round opponent as Gauff could have asked for and caused problems for the World Number 3 from the get-go, securing a break in the very first game of the match.
A series of unforced errors from Gauff allowed Tomljanovic to secure comfortable holds early on, but the errors began to mount for the Australian before long and Gauff would bring the set back on serve at 3-3 when Tomljanovic went long with a forehand.
Gauff then made her move with Tomlkanovic serving down at 5-4.
The American produced a backhand down the line to put pressure on the Australian’s serve and earned a set point when Tomljanovic played a poor shot into the net. Tomljanovic handed Gauff the first set on a silver platter when she played a weak backhand slice into the net on set point.
As if to underline how great a part unforced errors played in the opening set, Gauff and Tomljanovic produced just seven winners between them compared to a combined 29 unforced errors. Tomljanovic managed just a solitary winner in the entire set, making 13 unforced errors in the process.
Gauff, however, could not seize on the momentum of the opening set and continued to struggle for consistency in the second. She traded breaks with Tomljanovic after a pair of loose service games before again failing to consolidate a break of serve midway through the set, offering her opponent a route back into the set.
Gauff continued to struggle on serve in the second set and was broken for a third time when she once again fired into the net following a lengthy rally after a loose forehand and a double fault had handed Tomljanovic a double break point.
Serving for the set, Tomljanovic produced a pair of winners to help bring up two set points but quickly returned to form by making a series of unforced errors, handing Gauff an opportunity to break back. The American took her chance at the second time of asking and secured a comfortable hold and put the pressure back on Tomljanovic.
The Australian held her nerve to force a second-set tiebreak and, by this stage, had found her range from the baseline. Tomljanovic subsequently dominated the breaker against a misfiring Gauff, deservedly taking the set after opening up five set points.
The pair again swapped breaks early in the third set before Gauff broke again in the third game of the set after Tomljanovic produced a catalog of errors on serve.
Gauff missed several opportunities to go up a double break in the third set and paid for that lack of ruthlessness when serving for the match at 5-4 when she handed Tomljanovic a reprieve with a couple of double faults and a series of wayward forehands to bring the decider back on serve.
But true to the nature of Tuesday’s error-laden contest, Tomljanovic failed to seize on that reprieve and offered Gauff an immediate opportunity to regain the break with a wayward volley at the net. Gauff took the break when Tomljanovic found the net once again.
Gauff made no mistake on this occasion and converted on her first match point, producing an exquisite backhand passing winner to book her place in the second round.
The former champion let out a roar of relief after surviving what transpired to be a real banana skin. She now moves on to another potential banana skin against 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic on Thursday.
