Coco Gauff has made a strong start in her bid to win a maiden French Open title, as she eased past German world No.208 Julia Avdeeva 6-1 6-1 in the first round at Roland Garros for her 50th Grand Slam match victory.
Gauff, 20 - who won the US Open last year to break her Grand Slam duck, after losing the 2022 final at Paris - needed less than an hour to advance, even though the match was briefly halted, after Avdeeva accidentally bumped her head against the umpire's, while contesting a point.
"Today was kind of a straightforward match," said Gauff. "I didn't have to do much.
"I wouldn't say I played amazing, I just had to play solid today. That's what I did."
Adveeda was making her Grand Slam debut at Paris and Gauff says she sensed her opponent's stress on the second showcourt.
"I do think she was a little bit nervous with the bigger court, but I played well too," she said.
In the second round, world No.3 American Gauff will take on Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek, who had reached the semi-finals in the French Open in 2021 and beat Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck 6-2 2-6 6-1 in the first round.
"She's definitely a fighter," said Gauff. "I think she has, you know, good ball tolerance, she can make a lot of balls in the court, pretty good mover, so it's going to be a tough match."
Reuters
