LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff likes the No. 1 Court docket at Wimbledon.
It is the place she beat Venus Williams again in 2019 when Gauff made her Wimbledon debut at age 15.
On Wednesday, Gauff beat qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the third spherical on the All England Membership.
“That is the court docket the place I first began right here at Wimbledon. Court docket 1 is all the time a particular place for me to play on,” the 20-year-old Gauff stated in her on-court interview.
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The victory additionally permits Gauff, the No. 2 seed, to maneuver one other step away from final 12 months’s first-round exit.
“General, I simply realized about life so much,” the U.S. Open champion stated when requested about placing that three-set loss to Sofia Kenin behind her.
“I simply realized that, sure, what I do I am very keen about, nevertheless it’s not ever that critical and typically the world could make you are feeling like there’s a lot strain, there’s a lot expectation,” she stated. “On the finish of the (day), it is a sport. It is sport.”
The 19-year-old Todoni is from Romania and was making her Grand Slam debut.
“I do assume I may have performed cleaner at some moments,” Gauff stated.
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5 years in the past, Gauff beat Williams — a five-time Wimbledon champion — 6-4, 6-4 within the first spherical and ultimately reached the final 16, all in her Grand Slam debut.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz trailed 6-5 within the first set Wednesday earlier than coming again to beat Aleksander Vukic 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2, establishing a third-round assembly with No. 29 Frances Tiafoe after the American eradicated Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3.
When instructed by the on-court interviewer that Tiafoe stated he is “coming after you,” the 21-year-old Spaniard replied with a smile: “I am going for him.”
“We performed a extremely good match within the U.S. Open,” the No. 3 seed stated of their 2022 semifinal that Alcaraz received at Flushing Meadows.
In different outcomes, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was eradicated within the second spherical by No. 19 Emma Navarro by a rating of 6-4, 6-1.
No. 11 Danielle Collins accomplished her first-round match — a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Clara Tauson. It had been suspended Tuesday evening at 4-4 within the second set.
No. 20 Beatriz Haddad Maia superior to the third spherical by beating Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3.
On the lads’s aspect, No. 16 Ugo Humbert eradicated Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9), 6-1, 6-3.