Coco Gauff Overcomes Serving Struggles to Advance at US Open
Coco Gauff left Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night with teary eyes and a fist raised in triumph. The world No. 3 had endured another tense battle with her serve, this time against Donna Vekić, but she held her nerve to secure a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory, moving into the third round of the US Open.
The match was less a straightforward win than a test of resilience, exposing the mental challenge of refining a key part of her game under pressure. Gauff’s seven double faults in the opening set echoed the struggles of her title defense last year, when faulty serving cost her dearly. At 5-4 down, after two consecutive missed serves led to a break, she slumped into her chair, burying her face in a towel in frustration.
“It’s part of being human,” she said afterward. “Athletes are often expected to be perfect, but people forget we have emotions too. If I never played another match, I’ve already achieved more than many dream of. What you saw today was real—I fought through it and found a way to reset.”
Reset she did. When Vekić took a medical timeout for her shoulder late in the first set, Gauff stayed on court, practicing serves as music played for the nearly full stadium. The scene looked more like a technical training session than a Grand Slam match. “It’s hard making adjustments during a major tournament,” Gauff admitted. “But I believe this is the right path, and this is the biggest challenge. It can only improve from here.”
Her biomechanics coach, Gavin MacMillan, who joined her team shortly before the tournament, had previously helped Aryna Sabalenka revamp her serve. Now, he’s guiding Gauff through her own transformation. “He’s not one for the spotlight,” Gauff said, smiling. “I just don’t want to disappoint him. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Despite the early struggles, Gauff forced a tiebreak, where her baseline play proved decisive. When Vekić sent a forehand long to end the set, Gauff’s mother jumped from her seat, cheering her on.
After regrouping in the locker room, Gauff returned calmer in the second set. Though her serve still wavered at times, she cut down her errors, hitting just one double fault and breaking Vekić twice. The Croatian, a silver medalist at last year’s Olympics and a past victor over Gauff, couldn’t recover from her own errors and discomfort. Gauff sealed the win with a sharp backhand on her second match point, roaring in relief as the crowd erupted.
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