Coco Gauff arrived in New York with more questions than answers after reshuffling her coaching team on the eve of the year’s final grand slam. Her second major at Roland Garros in June had given way to a summer-long revolt of her serve, often marked by spates of double faults and premature exits, including a first-round departure from Wimbledon. She has framed the change as a long-term fix rather than a quick repair, saying she did not want to “waste time playing a way I don’t want to play”.
After two tense night sessions to launch her US Open campaign, the 21-year-old American finally looked settled on Saturday morning, advancing to the second week of her home major for the fourth year running with a 6-3, 6-1 dismissal of Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
To address her serving woes, Gauff has enlisted Gavin MacMillan, the biomechanics specialist who helped Aryna Sabalenka rein in her serving yips and climb to the world No 1 ranking with three major titles. The first two rounds showed the transition was bumpy: a three-set struggle against Ajla Tomljanovic, then tears on court in a fraught win over Donna Vekic. “It’s been an emotional week,” Gauff said. “I think I needed those tough moments to be able to move forward. I was putting so much pressure on myself.”
This time there was no unraveling. Under bright sunshine rather than the Ashe floodlights, Gauff struck just four double faults, built a 3-0 lead and, when Frech briefly levelled at 3-all, responded with assurance. Serving at 40-30 in a tense seventh game, she steadied with a 105mph delivery that drew an error, clenched her fist and surged through the rest of the set.
The second set was more straightforward. A bruising 20-shot exchange went Gauff’s way to earn the first break, while another break at love followed two games later as Frech’s errors mounted. The Pole, seeded at a major for the first time, could not hurt the American once rallies extended. “She gives you no pace, maybe not too many angles to work with, so you kind of have to create all the opportunity for yourself,” Gauff said afterwards.
Her delivery, so fragile in recent months, became a source of confidence. She landed nearly 80% of first serves in the opener and conceded only two points on serve during the second set. Even when a fourth double fault appeared as she tried to close, she brushed away the danger with a crisp volley before sealing victory after 73 minutes with a quiet pump of her left fist. “Today I definitely think was a step in the right direction,” she said. “I’m more proud of the mental effort … remembering the things that we worked on in practice.”
The contrast with her opening rounds was stark. Instead of tense body language and second-guessing, she attacked from the baseline and looked to finish points at the net. The serve remains a work in progress, particularly the toss, but the rhythm was smoother and her self-belief clearer. She even suggested Thursday’s tears might have served a purpose: “Maybe it’s not a weakness,” she reflected. “It’s just showing the things that happen in my head … Today I felt a lot lighter going on court.”
For Frech, the world No 28, this was still a week of progress. She had never previously reached the US Open’s third round and her win over Peyton Stearns ensured a career-best result here. But against Gauff the gulf in experience told. The American, making her 25th appearance in a grand slam main draw, already owns two major titles – and boasts a 30-1 record at the majors over the past two years against opponents ranked outside the top 20.
That precocity places her among rare company. Only Venus Williams has reached more second weeks at grand slams among US women before turning 22. “This is the level I want to play,” Gauff said. “I know the competition gets tougher from here, but if I keep building from today, I like where my game is going.”
Her next opponent will be either Daria Kasatkina, seeded 15th and known for her variety, or Naomi Osaka, the two-time US Open champion who is continuing her return. Both promise to offer sterner resistance than Frech. But for the first time this fortnight, Gauff walked off Ashe with the familiar look of a champion and ready for whatever comes her way.
