LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff loves No. 1 Court wimbledon,
It was here she beat Venus Williams in 2019, when Gauff made her Wimbledon debut as a 15-year-old.
On Wednesday, Gauff beat qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1 to reach the third round at the All England Club.
“This is the same court where I first started playing at Wimbledon. Court 1 has always been a special place for me to play,” the 20-year-old Gauff said in her on-court interview.
The win allows No. 2 seed Gauff to move a step closer to last year’s first-round exit.
“Overall, I’ve learned a lot about life,” the US Open champion said when asked about putting her three-set loss to Sofia Kenin behind her.
“I just realised that, yes, I am very passionate about what I do, but it’s never that serious and sometimes the world can make you feel like there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s a game. It’s a sport.”
Todoni, 19, is from Romania and was making her Grand Slam debut.
“I think I could have played a little cleaner in some instances,” Gauff said.
Five years ago, Gauff defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and eventually reached the last 16, her first time at a Grand Slam.
defending champion Carlos Alcaraz He came back from 6-5 down in the first set on Wednesday to beat Aleksandar Vukic 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2 and will face No. 29 Frances Tiafoe in the third round after the American beat Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3.
When the on-court interviewer pointed out that Tiafoe said he was “coming after you,” the 21-year-old Spaniard replied with a smile: “I’m going after him.”
“We played a really good match at the US Open,” the No. 3 seed said of the 2022 semifinal, which Alcaraz won at Flushing Meadows.
In other results, the four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the second round by No. 19 seed Emma Navarro by a score of 6-4, 6-1.While World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (4) at Centre Court in the all-Italian contest.
“I knew I had to raise my level today,” Sinner said. “He’s a grass-court specialist. … I’m very happy with how I handled the situation.”
No. 11 Danielle Collins completed her first-round match — a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Clara Tauson. The match was suspended Tuesday night with the second set tied at 4-4.
No. 20 Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the third round.
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