The 15-year-old Cori Gauff made a winning start to her US Open main draw campaign as she defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 6-2,6-4 in the first round match on Tuesday (local time).
This match was Gauff’s debut in the US Open main draw.
“It was crazy. Obviously, I was nervous going out on the court. It’s such a big court. Then my home Slam, so I wanted to do well. The crowd really helped me the whole match. It was really a great atmosphere to play in and a great experience for me,” US Open’s official website quoted Gauff as saying.
“No matter where I was on the court, I could always hear someone supporting me.”
Coco & the New York crowd = 🤗@CocoGauff | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/vUX30ZhTB8
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2019
“I just wanted to win so bad, I was trying to really dig deep. I was like, You got to make her play. She’s not going to hand it to you,” she added.
Gauff had to suffer a loss in the first set as her Russian counterpart displayed an aggressive style of play, not allowing Gauff to create momentum in the match.
But the American came out all guns blazing in the second and third set. She was able to shrug off Potapova’s challenge and easily recorded wins in the remaining two sets.
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“This is my first main draw US Open, I’m playing on Louis Armstrong, second biggest court. After the first set, I was kind of like I have to reset, stop thinking about what would happen after the match, just think about what I need to do to win the second set,” Gauff said.
Earlier this year, the 15-year-old was able to enter the round of 16 stages in the Wimbledon tournament.
Gauff had become an internet sensation as she had recorded a famous win over Venus Williams in her debut match in Wimbledon.
She had defeated Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the first round match of the tournament.
(With ANI inputs)