Oh, but Gauff has. She is willing to be more aggressive early in points — and went to the net 18 times, taking 15 of those points. She has better footwork on her forehand and is not afraid to go for that shot.
Those are two improvements that have come since a first-round loss at Wimbledon in July, tweaks that arrived while working with new coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert, who could be heard urging Gauff to make things more physical from his front-row seat in a player guest box.
The surface switched, too — from the slower clay of Paris to the swifter hard courts of Flushing Meadows — and Andreeva figured that had more to do with the rather different result this time.
She also lamented: "This match I did more mistakes than I usually do. ... I could have played better."
Later Wednesday, Gauff and Jessica Pegula went out to play their first-round doubles match and won — although not exactly when Gauff thought they did. Ahead 4-1 in the second set, Gauff smacked a return winner for a 5-1 lead, and she went to hug Pegula, thinking the match was over. Pegula informed her of the mistake; Gauff doubled over in laughter. One game later, it was, indeed, finished.
After that one poor game to begin things against Andreeva, Gauff quickly snapped to it, looking far more formidable than she did during a
difficult three-setter against Laura Siegemund that lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes in the first round Monday night. This one lasted less than half as long, time-wise.
Gauff's serve was clicking; she never got broken again. Her forehand was up to the task, even as Andreeva repeatedly went after that side, something Gauff has referred to as the old "playbook" against her. On lengthy groundstroke back-and-forths, mostly from the baseline, Gauff was superior.
She won 14 of 20 points that lasted nine strokes or longer, up to as many as 30 shots. Overall, Gauff compiled a 24-7 edge in winners.
"Playing a younger person just reminded me how far I have come," said Gauff, who plays No. 32 Elise Mertens next, "and I should be proud of myself."
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AP tennis:
https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
