Coco Gauff makes winning return in Washington qualifying

Having taken the tennis world by storm with an historic run to the fourth round of Wimbedon, 15-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff made a winning return to the court at the Citi Open in Washington DC on Saturday, beating college standout Maegan Manasse in the first round of qualifying, 6-4, 6-2.

When she arrived in Washington, Gauff wasn’t even sure she would make it into the qualifying - she had to use her pre-Wimbledon ranking of No. 313 to get in, and not her current ranking of No. 143.

On Friday, it was announced that she made the cut for the qualies - she’s actually the top seed.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I’m really happy to get back on the court. I wasn’t sure I would get to play any matches before the US Open, and I’m really hoping the preparation will show.”

On Saturday, Gauff was on her game from the start, breaking early in both sets and staying strong on her own serve - she won 78% of her first serve points, and even 68% of her second serve points.

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She broke the 24-year-old Manasse for the fourth time to close it out after 68 minutes.

“It felt great,” Gauff told reporters after the match. “I’d never been to this tournament before and I’m really loving it so far. The crowd was amazing, the court was amazing - everything was great.

“Today I learned a lot about how the court plays here. Compared to where I practice at home, the courts are a little bit slower, which is better for me, because I feel like I have so much more time. I’m going to take that into my next match. I also thought I served really well today. I felt good out there.

“Maegan was playing really well, too. Honestly, I was just trying to stay with her. I ended up pulling it out in that last game. We had a couple of tight games here and there - she won some, I won some.”

Gauff said she wasn’t feeling any extra pressure to win as the No. 1 seed in qualifying.

“I wasn’t really thinking too much about ranking or numbers, I was just focused on the game. I didn’t know her ranking; I barely know mine. I knew I was the top seed, but other than that I don’t focus on numbers. Whether you’re the lower-ranked person or the higher-ranked person, you still have to win.”

Gauff will next play No. 8 seed Hiroko Kuwata, who outlasted American Maria Sanchez, 4-6 7-5 6-0.

Should she win that match, she’ll be through to the third WTA main draw of her career. Her first came at the Miami Open in March, where she reached the second round as a wildcard, falling to former Top 10 player Daria Kasatkina. Her second WTA main draw was, of course, Wimbledon earlier this month.

Gauff made history at Wimbledon, stunning Venus Williams in the first round and eventually making it all the way to the fourth round before falling to eventual champion Simona Halep. She was the youngest woman to reach the second week of a Grand Slam since Anna Kournikova at the 1996 US Open, and the youngest woman to achieve the feat at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.