Coco Gauff didn’t just edge through—she wrestled every inch of that court. Under the Arthur Ashe lights, Gauff survived a brutal 6–4, 6–7(2), 7–5 battle against Ajla Tomljanovic, taking her through to Round Two. At the heart of the fight: a serve in overhaul, pressure mounting, and a warrior refusing to crack.
Rebooting the Serve, One Battle at a Time
Gauff entered the Open with a bold move: firing longtime coach Matt Daly and enlisting biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan—a specialist credited with helping Aryna Sabalenka fix her serve.The changes were raw, raw, raw—she double-faulted 10 times, including in the very first game, and was broken six times.
Peril, Then Poise
Still, her resolve held. She dropped first-set nerves and backed herself down the stretch:
- First-serve speeds? 88 mph in set 1, 97 mph in set 2, 101 mph in set 3—methodical build, from cautious to confident
- At 30-30, 6-5 in the decider, she served the ball in—landed just enough, held tight, and the crowd exploded.
- The match was nearly three hours of breathless rally after rally. Gauff leaned on legs, mental steel, and that indomitable drive.
Why This Win Matters
This is a comeback on two fronts: the scoreboard and her serve mechanics. Gauff admitted reforming her serve mid-Slam was “mentally exhausting”—but one that could redefine her trajectory. She faces Donna Vekic next, and though it wasn’t pretty, Gauff delivered when it counted.
Clutch Crunch Take
Elegance isn’t always in how you win—it’s in how you survive. Gauff’s serve was shaky, her coaching overhaul recent, but she found her stride under pressure. That nerve wasn’t built overnight—but she dialed it up when the moment demanded. And now? Round Two beckons, with a player who’s not just back—she’s recalibrated and ready.
(Image credits: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image cropped)