Coco Gauff has shrugged off concerns about her serve after moving into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday.
The third seed defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3, who has recently switched allegiance from Russia to Uzbekistan. Despite the straightforward score, Gauff did have trouble with her serve, particularly in the first set when she hit six double faults and won just four out of 15 points behind her second serve. She dramatically reduced the number of double faults in set two to one, but again won less than half of the points behind her second serve.
It is not the first time the former Grand Slam champion has experienced teething problems with her serve. To address the problem, last summer she began working with biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who was instrumental in fixing a similar issue for Aryna Sabalenka a couple of years ago.
“It was just the first set. Only had one double in the second. I think both of us were struggling on the far side. The sun is right there, which I know for every time I play first on a day here, that’s just how it is.” Gauff told reporters.
“But once I got through kind of the first game, I had like three doubles in the first game, and once I got through that game, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. Maybe I would have liked to put more first serves in the court, for sure.”
Elaborating further, the American believes she got into difficulty after getting off to a slow start against world No.93 Rakhimova.
“I don’t think I was accelerating enough, which is why a lot of the doubles (double faults) went in the net,” she explains.
“As the match went on, I just told myself to accelerate on my serve more. Obviously when that happens, I get more speed and velocity. So I think the next match I’ll try and start quicker than I did today.”
Despite being only 21, Gauff has now won 75 matches at major events against 23 losses. Furthermore, she has won 22 matches in a row against players outside the top 50 when playing at this level.
The next test for Gauff will be Serbia’s Olga Danilović, who knocked Venus Williams out of the tournament on Sunday. It will be the first time the two players have played against each other on the Tour.
“It’s going to be a tough match. I think she’s a talented player. I’m looking forward to the battles. Not often I get to play a lefty,” she said.
“I think if I stay with my game, hopefully I can come out with the result.”
Gauff is chasing after her third Grand Slam title after the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open.
