American teenager Coco Gauff racked up her ninth-straight win at Grand Slams as she eventually found her groove to beat compatriot Caroline Dolehide in straight sets. Gauff, who defended her ASB Classic title in New Zealand earlier in January, will face another American, Alycia Parks, in the third round. She is among the favourites for the title following her US Open triumph last year.
US Open champion Coco Gauff survived a first-set wobble to battle past Caroline Dolehide in their all-American encounter and move into the Australian Open third round.
Dolehide served for the opening set after going toe-to-toe with Gauff from the baseline, but her teenage rival came up good in the biggest moments to hit back and eventually prevail 7-6(2) 6-2.
Coco Gauff looked to be in cruise control after opening up a 4-1 lead in the opening set, but Dolehide refused to go away and got the reward for her aggressive hitting when she broke back.
Both players then enjoyed comfortable holds until 5-5, when a scruffy service game from Gauff suddenly presented her compatriot the opportunity to serve for the set.
The setback appeared to spark Gauff into life as she broke back immediately to force a tie-break, where she quickly ripped into a 4-1 lead with a bruising forehand winner.
Soon she had five set points – and although a stunning Dolehide winner flashed past her on the first, her opponent went long on the next as the opener went the way of the fourth seed.
Gauff swatted away a break point at 1-1 before two quick breaks of her own saw her take control of the second set as she dialled up the pace from the back of the court.
An untimely hiccup saw her double-fault on her second match point, and then go long on her third, but eventually – after another double-fault – Dolehide netted as Gauff marched on.
“I wasn’t nervous today. I was just trying to play good tennis,” Gauff said on court.
“If you give her something short, she’s going to punish you for it. I think if I could go back, I would try and play deeper and more heavy, like I did in the second [set].”
Gauff will next meet Alycia Parks, another American, in Melbourne. Parks surprised former US Open finalist and 32nd seed Leylah Fernandez 7-5 6-4 to reach the third round at a major for the first time.
How did she manage that?! 😯
Coco Gauff manages to pull off this skilful shot 👏 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/eODNyQImDO
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 17, 2024
