The chant echoed through the large Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday during Coco Gauff’s first match at the US Open as the defending champion: “Here we go, Coco! Here we go!”
Gauff, who had struggled with early exits in previous events, found herself down 1-0 to Varvara Gracheva after losing the initial game without winning a point, due to several groundstroke errors. The next game was tough, with 14 points played over eight minutes and Gracheva having three break opportunities.
However, Gauff saved all those break points, won that game, and quickly took control of the match, finishing with a 6-2, 6-0 win. This victory not only advanced the 20-year-old American to the second round but also showed that her game is in better shape than it had seemed recently.
Gauff said, “The last couple of weeks were tough, and I was like, ‘I have to do this and do that, but I don’t have to prove anything to anyone except myself.’ So … (these) two weeks are just about proving all the expectations that I have on myself.”
She added, “I have many more years coming back here and I’m not going to win every year. Just that perspective and just having the belief that I can — but not the expectation that I should.”
The first day of the US Open went well for Gauff and another young American, 13th-seeded Ben Shelton, who beat 2020 champion Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. This was Thiem’s final US Open match as he plans to retire after this season.
“Obviously she plays with a lot of passion,” Shelton, 21, said about Gauff. “You could tell that she cares out there. She’s into it every time that she’s on the court. I think that’s something that the people love.”
Gauff was not the only former U.S. Open champion playing on Monday. The night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium began with 2017 winner Sloane Stephens losing a big lead against Clara Burel, finishing with a score of 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 after leading the first nine games.
Novak Djokovic, who has 24 Grand Slam titles including last year’s U.S. Open, then won against Radu Albot with scores of 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
Among the seeded women who won were No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion who was the runner-up to Gauff last year; No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, the women’s gold medalist from the Paris Olympics earlier this month; No. 24 Donna Vekic, the silver medalist; No. 12 Daria Kasatkina; and No. 14 Madison Keys.
No. 9 Maria Sakkari had to stop after the first set due to a right shoulder injury. The highest-seeded man to lose during the day session was No. 15 Holger Rune, who was defeated by Brandon Nakashima of the U.S. with scores of 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Men’s seeds who advanced included No. 4 Alexander Zverev, the runner-up to Thiem four years ago; No. 6 Andrey Rublev; No. 8 Casper Ruud, the 2022 runner-up at Flushing Meadows; No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov; and No. 12 Taylor Fritz.
Zheng is having an impressive season, starting with a run to the final at the Australian Open in January and reaching a high point by winning China’s first Summer Games singles gold. On Monday, she faced a tough match against 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova but came back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“Everything starts at zero. You are not anymore the Olympic champion,” Zheng said. “Just be humble and try to work, fight every single match, because if you don’t fight, you have a big chance to lose.”
This is similar to Gauff’s mindset as she returns to the place of her biggest win so far.
Gauff was trying to reset after early exits in three events at the Paris Games, though she didn’t want to forget her trip to France. She wore a necklace with the Olympic rings during her match on Monday. Despite a two-match losing streak on North American hard courts, Gauff managed to get back on track.
This didn’t surprise Gauff. She knew she didn’t play well in Toronto or Cincinnati recently but felt she was hitting well in practice.
“Usually that first round for me can sometimes set the tone for a tournament, whether you’re playing well or not. … I had a good mentality. Is this going to say I’m going to play great the next couple of matches? Yes or no,” Gauff said.
“But I think the mentality I have going into this week will be there, and hopefully the execution stays there.”
Gauff needed just 66 minutes to win on Monday, using some of her 10 aces to save all eight break points Gracheva had and hitting 16 winners compared to Gracheva’s 5.
“From the start, we kind of all knew that Coco was going to be an amazing player, and she’s incredibly mature and carries herself in a way that I wish that I carried myself when I was her age,” said Keys, 29, who lost to Stephens in the U.S. Open final seven years ago.
“It’s also very impressive how she’s been able … through all of the pressure and all of the expectation that’s been put on her, continue to do as well as she has.”
