American Coco Gauff had to navigate an unexpected obstacle Wednesday in her march to the third round of the Australian Open.
Up a set and seemingly cruising to victory over Jodie Burrage of Great Britain, Gauff mysteriously couldn’t hold her serve as Burrage fought her way back into the match. After breaking Gauff twice, the 85th-ranked Burrage had a chance to serve for the set and pull even.
However, the moment was too much for her as a double-fault to drop serve gave Gauff the opening she needed and the tournament’s No. 3 seed closed out a 6-3, 7-5 victory.
‘I think it was just one of those things, just step up my level against her,’ she told reporters afterward.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN STORYLINES: Coco Gauff ‘confident’ in bid for second Grand Slam title
Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, will next face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the third round in Melbourne.
Gauff previously trained with left-handed compatriot Robin Montgomery to prepare for Fernandez and beat the Canadian 6-3 6-2 in their first tour-level match at the recent United Cup.
‘We’ll see two days from now if it makes a difference or not,’ she said. ‘It’s a different match, different story. Anything can happen.’