Coco Gauff wins all-American showdown, buries 2023 demons

Coco Gauff wins all-American showdown, buries 2023 demons

ByREUTERS

July 1, 2024, 3:49 PM

WIMBLEDON -- There was no need for Coco Gauff to hide away from the spotlight on Monday as she banished memories of her 2023 Wimbledon nightmare with a 6-1 6-2 first-round destruction of fellow American Caroline Dolehide.

On the eve of this year's grasscourt championships, Gauff had admitted she had been "in a dark place" following her opening round exit in London last year but armed with the knowledge that things "couldn't get any worse" this time round, she was simply unstoppable against her 51st-ranked rival.

"Last year I lost in the first round and it was very tough for me, that's why I am a little emotional and that's why I was happy to turn it around," Gauff told the crowd on court.

The 20-year-old, now a Grand Slam champion having won the U.S. Open in September, dropped only one point on serve during a formidable first-set performance.

Such was her confidence she conjured an incredible crosscourt lob into the far corner which she greeted with a one-armed salute as the Centre Court crowd jumped to their feet to roar their approval.

The world number two kept up the barrage of winners in the second set and despite overcooking a forehand on her first match point, she made no mistake on her second.

In other women's results, world number one Naomi Osaka returned to Wimbledon after a five-year absence and navigated a tricky first-round match against France's Diane Parry on Monday, winning 6-1 1-6 6-4 with the help of nervous serving from her opponent.

The 26-year-old Japanese, who entered the draw as a wildcard, looked to be in total command in the first set as her hefty groundstrokes struck the lines and her big serve continually forced Parry on to the back foot.

But Osaka, who returned to the tour this year after 15 months of maternity leave, appeared to lose concentration and rhythm in the second set and 21-year-old Parry, ranked 53, took advantage.

"I wish I could say I enjoyed (the match) all the time," Osaka, who has won both the U.S. and Australian Opens twice, said in an interview on court. "My heart was racing."

The match see-sawed into the third set with the players trading breaks at the start.

Osaka saved break points in a difficult ninth game to lead 5-4 before Parry's serve crumbled and she produced three double faults to concede the match.

"I feel like these are the type of matches that you kind of have to play just in order to ease into the tournament," Osaka said after thanking the crowd for getting behind her.

Osaka was followed on to Court Two by another former Grand Slam champion as American Sloane Stephens reached the second round with a 6-3 6-3 defeat of France's Elsa Jacquemot.

Stephens, who won the U.S. Open in 2017, had been due to face twice Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka but the Belarus player withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

There was also success for another former U.S. Open winner trying to rediscover her old spark as Canada's Bianca Andreescu beat Romanian Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets.