United States tennis star Coco Gauff prevailed in her opening match at the China Open with a win over Clara Burel 7-5, 6-3, to reach the third round. This is her first match since a fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro in her US Open title defense. The No. 4 seed notched a 100-minute victory over the World No. 56 Burel.
This match also became Gauff’s first match with new coach Matt Daly. Previously, she has decided to part ways with Brad Gilbert after the US Open. In the third round, she will face the No. 26 seed Katie Boulter of Great Britain on Sunday. Boutler defeated Gauff’s fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4. How far will Gauff advance?
Another Record Set For Gauff
Gauff showed a good fight over Burel, who pushed the American to a third-set tiebreak at Indian Wells earlier this year and she is easing to the straight-set win. With her victory, the 20-year-old Gauff has now won 46 matches at WTA 1000 hard-court events. That ties her with Caroline Wozniacki for the most WTA 1000 hard-court match-win before turning 21 years old.
This was also Gauff’s 30th straight win over a player ranked outside the Top 50. The last time she lost to a player ranked below World No. 50 was to her fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of 2023 Wimbledon. With this record, Gauff showed a positive sign of improvement after she decided to work with Daly.
Gauff Is Excited With Her New Team
Gauff has now added Matt Daly to coach alongside her longtime coach, Jean-Christophe Faurel. The world No. 6 started working with Daly a week before flying to Beijing for the China Open. Daly previously coached Denis Shapovalov on the ATP Tour last season.
An issue in Gauff’s game recently has been her serve, particularly her second serve. She hit 19 double faults during her US Open fourth round defeat to compatriot Emma Navarro. She then fell out of the top five of the WTA rankings. With a fresh start with Daly, Gauff is excited, “I’m super excited for a new change and hopefully to improve other parts of my game.”
Another Challenge Awaits Coco
The British top player Katie Boutler will be the next opponent for Gauff in the third round. Boulter recovered from a poor start to beat American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4. This is Boutler’s first event since a second-round exit at the US Open. She will be looking to finish the season strongly and push back into the top 30.
Gauff reached the last four at the event a year ago. She lost to the eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. Swiatek withdrew from the event due to personal issues. Her absence has turned the favorites to the US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and the runner-up Jessica Pegula.
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