Beyond the Limit: Coco Gauff fights past Ajla Tomljanovic in a three-hour battle

Coco Gauff earned a hard-fought victory against Ajla Tomljanovic in her US Open debut. The match lasted three hours and ended with the American winning 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5. This was Gauff's return to the court, seeking to improve her serve—something that worked well at moments during the match.

The third seed overcame a hesitant start and took control of the match, winning the first set and taking the lead in the second. However, Tomljanovic showed her resilience by recovering from a break down in the second and saving a couple of set points, pushing Gauff to the limit.

Gauff had a 61% first-serve percentage and won 66% of those points, improving on her numbers from recent tournaments. However, double faults were once again a problem, with a total of 10, several of which came at important moments in the match.

Gauff overcomes early nerves to win opening set

There were obvious problems with her serve in the first game—partly due to nerves, probably—and Tomljanovic took an early break before taking the set 2-0 with her serve. Gauff regained confidence in her next service game, winning it with a blank score and getting back into the dispute.

The world No. 3 began to play with her first serve and became strong from the back of the court, especially with her backhand, to put her opponent in trouble. This led to a break in the sixth game in her favor, with which she tied the score at 3-3 without doing too much against a Tomljanovic who showed personality but made too many unforced errors.

The two-time Grand Slam champion started to loosen up and dominate most of the rallies. The American took control of the match, going from an erratic start to winning five of the last six games to take the set 6-4. She clearly improved her serving, and despite three double faults, she had a 70% first-serve rate and won 79% of those points. These are positive numbers for a player who has been struggling with her serve in recent months.

Tomljanovic fights back to take wild second set

The second set started with Gauff using her momentum to easily win the first two games, giving her seven of the last eight games in total. However, Tomljanovic still showed her resilience, immediately breaking back and then tying the match again at 2-2 with her serve.

The set turned into a rollercoaster with breaks on both sides. Gauff took the lead with a break at 4-2, but Tomljanovic immediately broke back and brought the score back to a tie with her serve. The Australian even served at 5-4 and had two set points, but ended up wasting them and giving Gauff another chance, who then took a 6-5 lead on her serve.

Everything seemed decided when Tomljanovic was serving at 5-6, 0-30, but she managed to string together a good number of points and send it to a tiebreak. There, the world No. 79 kept her cool and took the momentum for herself, winning the tiebreak 7-6(7-2), in part thanks to Gauff's unforced errors. Tomljanovic won 11 of the last 13 points disputed.

Third Set

In the third set, things started well for Gauff, who got an early break to take the lead, but her serve faltered again and Tomljanovic broke back. Gauff quickly pulled ahead, getting a second consecutive break in a shaky start to the third set for both players. It was a battle of nerves where the crowd was a factor that tipped the scales in Gauff's favor. She managed to stay ahead, saving some break points against her.

The two-time major champion was serving at 5-3 with a chance to close out the victory, but she couldn't convert, and Tomljanovic broke back. The score was tied at 5-5, and in the final moments, everything would be decided by small details. It was there that Gauff showed her class and saved herself from a first-round disaster. A final break and a solid closing service game gave her the victory with a score of 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 after three hours of play.

Match Statistics Tomljanovic vs. Gauff

Gauff's new-look serve holds up

The third seed, Coco Gauff, advanced to the second round, showing that her service issues are starting to fade away for this US Open. After her loss to Jasmine Paolini in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals—a match where she committed 16 double faults—Gauff hired biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan. He previously worked with Aryna Sabalenka and helped her improve her double-fault problems a couple of years ago.

Gauff will face the Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic, who defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round (3-6, 7-5, 6-3). In fact, it was Vekic who surprised Gauff at Paris 2024, defeating her in straight sets in the third round. However, Gauff got her revenge in their second encounter (and only one on hard courts) when they faced off at the United Cup to kick off the 2025 season.

The 2023 US Open champion is starting to show why she's a title contender, as she plays for a chance to become the world No. 1 for the first time in her career if she wins the title and Aryna Sabalenka is defeated early in the tournament.