French Open 2025: Coco Gauff's
serve is not at its best but she gets the breaks for a win
[May 30, 2025]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff kept getting herself in some trouble with
shaky serving in the French Open's second round, and she kept
putting herself back in position to win by breaking right back
Thursday.
The second-seeded Gauff, pursuing her first title at Roland-Garros,
eliminated 172nd-ranked qualifier Tereza Valentova of the Czech
Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes on a partly cloudy, warm afternoon
in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Amid a soundtrack of sirens from nearby streets and roars from
nearby courts, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff only managed to produce
11 winners, five fewer than her far-less-experienced opponent. Gauff
also finished with 23 unforced errors, a total that included a
half-dozen double-faults.
Against Valentova, an 18-year-old who won the junior title at the
French Open last year and was competing in the main draw at a major
tournament for the first time, Gauff got broken five times. Four of
those came in the second set — and each time, the 21-year-old
Floridian managed to immediately rebound to claim Valentova's very
next service game.
“There is a sense of urgency after getting broken, for sure. You
don’t want to get too far behind. You don’t want to get two breaks
down. You can live with one break. But she’s definitely got to serve
better and do a better job of holding as the tournament progresses,”
said Gauff's father, Corey. “She's probably been one of the best
returners of serve on the tour the last two to three months. But
that's not what you want. You want to hold first, for sure. It's not
really a break until you hold.”
On Saturday, 2022 runner-up Gauff will try to reach the fourth round
in Paris for the fifth consecutive appearance, facing another Czech
player, Marie Bouzkova.
What else happened at the French Open on Thursday?
Other winners in the women's bracket included No. 3 Jessica Pegula,
who was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open, Australian Open
champion Madison Keys, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, and 2023
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the 2019 final
at Roland-Garros. Vondrousova, who is unseeded this year, eliminated
No. 25 Magdalena Frech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 6 and then went out to
sit in the stands at Lenglen to watch Gauff vs. Valentova.
[to top of second column] |
In men's play, No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended the career
of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet by beating the Frenchman 6-3, 6-0,
6-4. No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Arthur Fils won, while
24-time major champion Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout to deal
with a bothersome toe but eliminated Corentin Moutet in three sets.
Jack Draper gets past Gael Monfils with Odell
Beckham Jr. on hand
In the day's last match, No. 5 seed Jack Draper of Britain erased a
couple of set points that would have forced a fifth and held on to
defeat French showman Gael Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 across more
than three hours under the lights in Court Philippe-Chatrier. In the
stands? NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who won a Super Bowl
with the Los Angeles Rams. Now the left-handed Draper goes from
beating the 38-year-old Monfils to a high-profile matchup against
18-year-old João Fonseca on Saturday.
Who is on the schedule at Roland-Garros on Friday?
No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will begin third-round play at Court
Philippe-Chatrier on Day 6 by facing Olga Danilovic, while the night
match in the main stadium features defending champion Carlos Alcaraz
against Damir Džumhur, who hurt his left knee during a fall in his
second-round win. Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek continues her bid for a
fourth consecutive championship by playing Jaqueline Cristian,
18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko of Canada takes on Olympic gold
medalist Zheng Qinwen, and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe faces No. 23
Sebastian Korda in an all-American matchup.
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