Australian Open: Gauff Triumphs Over Kenin in First Round
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Melbourne, Jan 13 (NationPress) The third seed Coco Gauff progressed to the second round at the Australian Open following a demanding straight-set victory on Monday.
Gauff triumphed over fellow American Sofia Kenin with a score of 6-3, 6-3, taking one hour and 20 minutes on the main court at Melbourne Park, according to reports from Xinhua.
Despite facing challenges from Kenin, the champion of 2020, Gauff ultimately emerged victorious, marking her advancement to the tournament's second round for the fifth time in her career.
"It was a tough match for me today. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I'm happy with how I played," she commented after the match.
Kenin's challenge was evident right from the first game, where she created five deuces on Gauff's serve and had a break point chance before Gauff's powerful strokes took over.
This was just one of six break point opportunities for Kenin during the match, of which she only managed to convert one.
In the second set, trailing 4-3, Kenin had two chances to level the score but failed to capitalize due to errors.
This victory marked Gauff's 10th consecutive win, which includes victories over other Australian Open title contenders Zheng Qinwen, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals in December 2024, and was her first Grand Slam win against Kenin after previous defeats in the 2020 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2023.
Since her title win in 2020, Kenin has only won one match at the Australian Open and has now been eliminated in the first round for four years in a row.
Gauff is set to face Britain's Jodie Burrage in the second round.
