Coco Gauff reveals her ‘keep up’ challenge to opponents after 1st-round US Open win

Coco Gauff opened her pursuit of a second U.S. Open championship with a straight-sets victory Tuesday, challenging her opponents to maintain their best tennis against her for an entire match.

The fourth-seeded American defeated Zeynep Sonmez of Türkiye 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, finishing the first-round match in 1 hour, 20 minutes. It tied the second-shortest opening-round match of Gauff’s U.S. Open career.

“I know that I can raise my level if I need to do and I like to challenge my opponent to let them keep up the level the whole match,” Gauff said, via ESPN News Services . “And if they do, I clap my hands and I walk off court with my head held high.”

Sonmez tested Gauff at points, particularly after raising her level midway through the second set. Gauff even applauded her opponent following a pair of impressive shots, including a running shot down the line after tracking down a ball deep in the corner and a spinning volley that cleared the net.

Gauff ultimately regained control to avoid the type of extended opening match she has frequently encountered in New York. The 22-year-old had been pushed to three sets in five of her previous seven first-round matches at Flushing Meadows.

Her serve also held up Tuesday. Gauff won 64% of her second-serve points, her third-highest percentage in that category during a U.S. Open match.

The performance comes one year after serving problems followed Gauff into the tournament. She began working with a new coach immediately before last year’s U.S. Open, where she survived a difficult opener before Naomi Osaka eliminated her in the fourth round.

Gauff enters this year’s tournament with considerably more momentum. She won the Cincinnati title this summer after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and Toronto. Her Cincinnati victory also mirrored her 2023 season, when she won there before capturing her first Grand Slam championship at the U.S. Open as a teenager.

Another deep run could carry implications beyond a second U.S. Open title. Gauff is among the players competing for the No. 1 world ranking, along with Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.

For Gauff to reach No. 1, she must win the U.S. Open while Rybakina loses before the semifinals. Gauff will next face either Paula Badosa or Daria Kasatkina in the second round.

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