Coco Gauff managed to begin her 2025 US Open campaign with a victory despite being troubled by familiar problems on the court.
The American beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night (August 26) to advance to the second round.
It was an eventful contest in New York as the two players traded numerous breaks of serve and rallies throughout the three-hour match.
Gauff started off shaky as she was broken in the very first game of the contest, but the third seed managed to fight back with two breaks and take the opening set.
The 2023 champion seemed to be on her way to a straight-sets win as she led by a break twice in the second set, but she failed to close out and her Australian opponent eventually forced the decider after taking the tie break.
The third set began with three consecutive breaks of serve, as both players struggled to establish a clear advantage.
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Gauff's recent serving issues were present during Tuesday's contest and derailed her throughout, including in the deciding set when leading 5-4.
Two double faults were committed in that game by the 22-year-old as she was broken, but she managed to break back immediately, before successfully serving out the match in the following game.
While the most important thing for the world no. 3 would have been to advance, she will be concerned that there were 10 double faults in her display.
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Gauff's reaction to her challenging victory
Gauff was visibly relieved to overcome the unseeded Australian and touched on her performance afterwards.
"It was a tough match, I had chance to win it in straight sets. It wasn't the best but I'm happy to get through," said the American.
"I had so many chances. I kept telling myself eventually one of them would go my way," she added.
Just before the US Open got underway, the two-time Grand Slam winner fired her coach Matt Daly and brought in Gavin MacMillan to help improve her serve.
Gauff has since been hard at work with the biomechanics expert on the practise courts to fix the issue.
While the former US Open winner knows she has some way to go before her serving issues are completely eradicated, she saw signs of improvement in her first round display.
"It’s like learning a new language. I know this is the part of my game that needs to improve to get the results I want."
"That game where I served at 5-4 was definitely like an old habit. The next game was a lot better. At 6-5 I told myself, trust the work we did on the court."
The American will face Donna Vekic in the second round, after the unseeded Croatian defeated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday.
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