Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic Struggling But Win

The US defending champions Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic strive for the title in Flushing Meadow. These two stars both had some moments of discomfort but they managed to advance to the US Open third round without dropping a set. Coco Gauff advanced first after winning her match against Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0.

Followed by Novak Djokovic on another night match with a win after his fellow Serbian opponent, Laslo Djere retired at the start of the third set due to an abdominal problem. Although both of them had the same discomfort Novak Djokovic was able to push through it. He had to face a brutal match against Djere before the match was finally stopped at 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 in Djokovic’s favor.

Photo byFilip MrozonUnsplash

Novak Djokovic and His Serving Problems

After the match against Laslo Djere in the second round, Novak Djokovic had no other word than awful to describe his serving performance. The 37-year-old even admitted how this problem has been around since he played his first match two days before. “Playing without a serve, you have to grind and run,” he said during the interview with Nick Kyrgios after the match.

Novak Djokovic landed just 47% of his first serves in a physical, late-night contest against his fellow Serb, with the first two sets lasting over two hours. The 24-time major champion also hit 10 double faults in his straight-set opening round win over Radu Albot. In the press conference after his second victory, Djokovic addressed his serving problems and highlighted how it can lead to matches becoming much more of a grind. “I’m still kind of trying to find that rhythm and tempo on the serve,” he said.

The Same Problem For Coco Gauff

The women’s defending champion, Coco Gauff, seemed to have no problem at the US Open second round on Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. But there are still many things for Coco Gauff to work on in Flushing Meadows if she wants to defend her 2023 US Open title.

Gauff has stated that night matches at Arthur Ashe are "a little bit more nerve-racking." The weight of that attention reared its head at times under the Arthur Ashe lights. It was obvious when the top-ranked American woman was broken during her first service game.

She also struggled to get her first serve in throughout the opening set against Tatjana Maria. She needed to survive three deuces not to get broken for a second straight time, but it didn’t take much too long for Gauff to find her footing in the match. Gauff started off the second set by breaking Maria at the first two opportunities, and it was much easier for her to end a dominant second set.

Gauff and Djokovic Head To Next Round

With another win on Wednesday night, Gauff has marked her 15th win in a row at the US Open. This record needs to be continued if she wants to claim her back-to-back title. The nearest for the 20-year-old is 27th seed Elina Svitolina. Gauff admitted she will have to be at her best to prevail.

Gauff and Svitolina have met twice previously, with both enjoying one victory a piece. The tests will only get stiffer, though. “I played her (Svitolina) earlier in Auckland, and that was a tough match,” she said. Gauff also realized she has to bring her best tennis to win against her.

Similar to Gauff, Novak Djokovic also stated that he would do his best in the third round. Djokovic - who had sealed 90th US Open win - will face Montreal Masters winner and world No 28 Alexei Popyrin. The world No. 2 realized the challenges he would be facing in the next few days. “The matches are only gonna get tougher from here, I know that. But you know, I’m fine. I’ll find my way as I have done many times in my career.”

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Article originally written by Tania Rompas