Coco Gauff says she wants to win ‘as many slams as possible’ as she cruises into French Open second round
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — Coco Gauff raced into the second round of the French Open on Monday, taking just 52 minutes to defeat Russian qualifier Julia Avdeeva 6-1 6-1.
Gauff, who won her first grand slam title at last year’s US Open, reached the final at Roland Garros in 2022 and is looking to go one better at this year’s tournament.
The 20-year-old was dominant against Avdeeva, dropping just two games – one at the start of each set – and winning 23 out of 24 points on her first serve.
“It was a good day for me,” she said in her on-court interview. “She played well today, I think I was just the better player.”
The victory was Gauff’s 50th in the main draw of a grand slam, while Andeeva, by contrast, was playing in the main draw of a major for the first time.
Next up for the American is Czech qualifier Tamara Zidanšek, who reached the semifinals of the French Open three years ago – by far her best-ever run at a grand slam.
Speaking to the Tennis Channel after her fifth first-round win at Roland Garros, Gauff reflected on some of the long-term goals for her career.
“I just want to win as many slams as possible,” she said. “Being inspired by Serena Williams – she’s the one and true and only GOAT – but I think being inspired by her, it allowed me to make my dreams as limitless as possible.
“I was taught from a young age to make your dreams as big as possible, even if they don’t feel realistic.”
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Świątek defeated French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2 to set up a blockbuster second-round clash against fellow four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka.
Świątek, like Gauff, wasted little time in her opening match, requiring just over an hour to wrap up her 15th consecutive victory at Roland Garros.
The 22-year-old Świątek is the first women’s player to reach that milestone since Justine Henin won 24 matches and three-straight titles between 2005 and 2010 – the latter a feat that the Polish star is trying to replicate this year.
The world No. 1 is also unbeaten since April having won in Rome and Madrid ahead of this year’s French Open. She now has an unusually difficult second-round match against Osaka, who has returned to tennis this year having become a mother.
“She’s a great person and her game style is pretty fun to watch as well,” Świątek told reporters about facing the Japanese star. “I haven’t actually played against Naomi on clay, so we’ll see how that’s going to go.
“We need to prepare tactically for sure, but all these matches that we played on hard court were always really intense and tough. I’m just glad that she came back and she’s playing more tournaments even than before the break.”
The-CNN-Wire
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