In an extended and highly entertaining night session encounter, Coco Gauff came through a testing match against the perennially dangerous Alja Tomljanovic to keep her US Open hopes alive.
The 2023 champion has struggled in recent months, following her second Grand Slam title in Paris back in June, with particularly concerning yet familiar problems on serve rearing their head once again.
Such struggles led to the American making a sudden and drastic change to her coaching set-up, bringing in biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan to help rebuild her service motion into a reliable and potent weapon.
MacMillian was the driving force behind Ayna Sabalenka’s serve reconstruction – a transformation that has significantly helped to catapult the Belarusian’s career to glorious new heights.
Yet such a big adjustment to the most vital of shots requires time. It was evident throughout last night’s contest that Gauff is still very much in a period of transition on serve, as apparent through her 10 double faults.
Tomljanovic broke serve six times in total, forcing a tense final set which could easily have swung away from the American.
However, Gauff’s trademark tenacity enabled her to clinch a very testing win with a break in the eleventh game before sealing the victory with a desperately needed hold to secure a 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5 win.
“It was a tough match, I had a chance to win it in straight sets. It wasn’t the best but I’m happy to get through,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference.
“It has been really tough – mentally exhausting – but I’m trying.”
