US Open winner Coco Gauff kept his her winning pace with a solid start in Asia as the third seeded teenager claimed her 13th straight match on Monday in Beijing.
The American 19-year-old reached the second round on her debut in the Chinese capital, defeating last week’s Tokyo quarter-finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-3 in less than 90 minutes.
Gauff has not lost since mid-August in the Montreal quarter-finals, going on to win titles in Cincinnati and New York. Her record since exiting Wimbledon in the first round three months ago is 19 victories from 20 matches.
The Floridian also took revenge on Alexandrova for a second -round loss last spring in Berlin.
She now takes on Petra Martic in the second round.
“I didn’t think my level was the best it could be,” Gauff said of her victory. “She was giving me a lot of errors .
“(When I led) 4-0 I definitely started making more unforced errors. I think I had a point for 40-15 and I double-faulted. I was able to buckle down when I needed to.
“But I want to do better in closing out those sets when I’m up, especially a double break.”
She added: “Overall I’m happy with how I was able to push through. Is it how I like to play? Probably not.
“But I knew coming in was going to be tough, just coming from across the world. This is the first time here. I knew it was going to be a tough match for me regardless. I’m happy with how I was able to manage.”
Main photo:- US Open 2023 COCO GAUFF (USA) wins her first Grand Slam and celebrates with the trophy by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
