Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff fought through a tough second round match at the Australian Open on Wednesday, defeating Emma Raducanu 6-3 7-6.

Gauff, however, was moving superbly around the court, retrieving shots that seemed well out of her reach. “Considering the circumstances, I can imagine both of us were nervous,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. It looked like the American would cruise through the rest of the match when she took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Raducanu clawed her way back into the contest and broke Gauff to love at 3-4.

The former US Open champion, ranked 70 places below Gauff, grew into the match and was the better player late in the second set but was unable to take two set ...

3 She fell 0-30 down on her opening service game but battled back to hold. 3/7

Coco Gauff moved into round three of the Australian Open after a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Emma Raducanu.

The third ended with a lob volley that Raducanu could only manage to hit into the net, securing the second-round win and a spot in the third round for Gauff. With four match points to win, Gauff’s first was saved with a backhand winner and she put her second into the net. The Brit struggled with her serve, its speed dropping drastically, but in a huge turnaround, Gauff consistently could not keep the ball in, something that was not happening in the first set, and the momentum began to turn into Raducanu’s favour. It continued to go back and forth, with Gauff taking the first two points of the next game, but some unforced errors and a killer forehand from Raducanu saw it become 30-30, with the Briton then fashioning break points. After Gauff grabbed a point of her own, she found the net, making it 5-3. That didn’t deter her though, and after setting up another break chance, her aggression forced Gauff to double fault on the next.

Coco Gauff had to keep her emotions in check in a topsy-turvy second round Australian Open win over Emma Raducanu at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, ...

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) There’s other British players, but no one has done what she’s done and gotten that far in a Slam.” [News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/news/) But also, at the same time, I didn’t win a Slam. “There’s always, for American fans, someone to look to. [Tennis News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/tennis-news/) “Obviously she’s gone through a lot of pressure, bursting onto the scene. 20-year-old Raducanu has never been ranked above 10th in the world, but claimed a shock victory at the 2021 US Open. “I know my mum gets nervous… “I don’t look at [my nervous parents] too much in the match,” she said, as per Eurosport. [discovery+](https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/sport/tennis/australian-open?utm_campaign=UK-EU-D1-WBD-C11-PR-CAM-AW-W-Tennis-AustralianOpen-221221-NA&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pr.com&utm_content=text-paid-prcom-id1) and Eurosport

Emma Raducanu pushed Coco Gauff but fell short of an upset in the second round of the Australian Open.

Gauff held on to force a tie-break and used her remarkable powers of defence to frustrate her opponent before clinching her third match point. Suddenly Gauff looked hesitant and Raducanu created two chances to force a decider in the next game only to overcook a forehand on the first and dump a drop shot into the net on the second. Although she is more than a year younger than her rival, Gauff has a lot more experience after a steadier rise up the ranks and is one of the favourites to win the tournament.

The British number one fell to a 6-3 7-6 (4) defeat on Rod Laver Arena.

Raducanu’s level dipped at the start of the second set, with two double faults handing Gauff a break of serve to lead 2-1, but she picked it up again and it was the American’s turn to falter as Raducanu broke back for 4-4. Gauff got the better of three breaks of serve in a row to lead 4-2 and then saved three break points serving for the set to keep her nose in front. The physical work that she put in during the off-season helped her trade blow for blow with one of the most powerful players in the game and she reminded critics and fans alike that she is a player of rare talents.

The British number one fell to a 6-3 7-6 (4) defeat on Rod Laver Arena.

Raducanu’s level dipped at the start of the second set, with two double faults handing Gauff a break of serve to lead 2-1, but she picked it up again and it was the American’s turn to falter as Raducanu broke back for 4-4. Gauff got the better of three breaks of serve in a row to lead 4-2 and then saved three break points serving for the set to keep her nose in front. The physical work that she put in during the off-season helped her trade blow for blow with one of the most powerful players in the game and she reminded critics and fans alike that she is a player of rare talents.

Emma Raducanu predicted she and Coco Gauff will be the “next generation” of women's tennis players and is confident she will make significant progress this ...

We’re going to be the next generation.” Tennis is one of those sports, especially in the women's game, used to having young stars. “The limited practice time meant it’s been difficult to play matches and be in that condition. I think we’ve done a good job to get me on court this week. I still don’t think I did my best, but props to her, she’s a great opponent and athlete. I want to be an aggressive player.

Coco Gauff, 18, prevailed against Emma Raducanu, 20, in a prime-time match. “I think that we're going to be playing each other many times in the future,” ...

“We’re going to be the next generation.” Raducanu and Gauff had never even practiced together, but when it was over Wednesday, the handshake gave way to a friendly embrace at the net. The men’s game has been awash in transcendent rivalries for decades: from Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. “I know it’s one of the things that I needed to work on. Although in the second set I had chances and we were pushing it, I still felt like I could have done better. Her backhand drop shot on the second set point would have clearly been a winner if it had crossed the net, but it hit the tape and fell back on Raducanu’s side of the court. “I’m just happy that, I guess through the work that I did in the preseason, that it’s working out,” she said. It quickly became apparent that Raducanu was not going to win all the time, that she had somehow gotten into the zone very early and might not find her way back again for quite a while, if at all. Though she broke through to reach her first Grand Slam singles final at the French Open last year, losing to No. “I feel like she experienced it on a much bigger level than I did,” Gauff said of becoming a public figure. “We had pretty much, like, 10 days before the tournament, and Day 1, I was on crutches and doing pool rehab. Gauff, who beat Venus Williams at age 15 on her way to reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019, can relate, but only to a degree.

Emma Raducanu's disappointment in losing to Coco Gauff at the Australian Open was tempered by pride that she had defied injury to push a high-class ...

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) [News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/news/) “She raised her level a lot towards the end of the second set,” said Gauff. [Tennis News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/tennis-news/) So I’m feeling good and confident that, in six months’ time, I know it’s not going to be the finished product, but hopefully I would have made strides.” “If we made a mistake, people would say, ‘You’re just 20, you’re 18 years old, you can bounce back’. “I just have to review the body right now,” she said. Saying that, I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best today. So it obviously sucks a bit, but it’s fine.” “I think 13 days ago, if you would have told us, ‘Hey, you’re going to be in the draw and win a round’, it would have been a massive effort for sure. “She’s a great opponent, great athlete. But it’s such a nice court, and I’m happy to have had a match on that now so, next time, if I come back and play again on that court, I’ll be more familiar.”