Coco Gauff reaches the third round of Roland Garros for the first time

Despite the straight-sets victory, the match was not easy for the 17-year-old as Qiang pushed her to the limit in second set.

Coco Gauff in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Jun 3, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Coco Gauff has qualified to the third round of Roland Garros for the first time in her nascent career. She, along with Venus Williams was ousted in the first round of the women’s doubles but the teenager look to go deep into the singles competition. Gauff defeated China’s Wang Qiang in straight sets to advance to the next level. The final scoreline was 6-3, 7-6. Despite the straight-sets victory, the match was not easy for the 17-year-old as Qiang pushed her to the limit in the second set. She did however dominate the tiebreaker as she won 7-1 to oust the opponent.

Qiang, who was once the 12th seeded tennis player in the world, could have won the second set as she had the set point at 5-3. However, Gauff showed composure far beyond her years to record a magnificent comeback victory. Gauff had beaten Qiang a month earlier as well to win the Parma title.

Both players could only manage to score one ace each and Gauff conceded five double faults. Gauff even had a slightly lower win percentage on the first serve at 63% compared to Qiang’s 64%. However, she had a higher win percentage on the second serve at 69% to Qiang’s 42%.

Gauff also managed to win four break points out of eight while Qiang managed three out of 10. At the end of the game, it could be said that Guaff made the most of her opportunities and openings more efficiently than Qiang.

She now has two straight sets win in her two matches at Roland Garros, a pretty impressive start to a Grand Slam for a teenager.

Gauff is currently ranked 24th in the world and she is touted as one of the stars of women’s tennis in the future. She will be hoping to go a long way in the French Open but the road will not be easy by any means.

She will face either Fiona Ferro or fellow American tennis player Jennifer Brady in the third round of Roland Garros.