By Erik Gudris | Thursday, August 28 2025
Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Rolex
The struggle is real for Coco Gauff.
The American superstar admitted as much after finding her way into the third round of this year’s US Open. The No. 3 seed Gauff defeated Donna Vekic 7-6(3), 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium. That was despite the 21-year-old Gauff once again dealing with her much talked about serving issues.
Both players endured poor serving, especially in the first set with Gauff and Vekic combing for a total of 16 double faults.
After losing her serve again to fall behind 4-5, Gauff was visibly distressed during the changeover and buried her head in her towel, before wiping away some tears.
After the match, Gauff in her post-match interview admitted that this match, and the last few weeks, have been tough for her. Not surprising, given all the recent media scrutiny over her hiring biomechanist Gavin MacMillan to help fix her serve.
“This was a tough one. I was happy how I was able to manage. It’s been a rough couple of weeks but I’m just happy to be back on this court,” Gauff said. “And you guys bring me so much joy.”
When the crowd cheered, Gauff overcome with emotion, stopped briefly to compose herself. Gauff then added. “You guys really help me a lot. I’m doing this for myself, but I’m also doing it for you.”
Gauff, the recent Roland-Garros champion, has not had the results she would like since Paris. A first round loss at Wimbledon, followed by earlier than expected exits in Montreal and Cincinnati had many wondering about the former 2023 US Open champion’s form heading into New York. Gauff’s last minute coaching change right before the US Open, primarily to address her recent serving issues, only added to the speculation.
Gauff battled past Alja Tomjlanovic in three hours in her first round match, and it was expected Vekic might give the American more trouble this time. Vekic, the 28-year-old Croatian, though unseeded this year, has a number of wins over top five players in her career. Last year, she reached the Wimbledon semifinals and earned the Olympic Silver medal in singles in Paris.
But neither Gauff or Vekic could build much momentum in the first set as both players committed multiple errors throughout the set. After trading breaks several times, Vekic managed to get herself to 5-4 where she would serve for the first set.
Before that could happen, Vekic took a medical time out to have treatment on her right arm. When she resumed play, the errors continued for Vekic as she dropped serve at love to hand the break back for 5-all.
A tiebreak was eventually needed to decide the set. Gauff with a potent forehand in the mid-court managed to edge ahead for 6-5 late in the tiebreak. Gauff then took the set 7-6(5) when Vekic missed a forehand down set point.
While both women cleaned up their games in the second set, it was Gauff who earned the first advantage. Gauff broke Vekic’s serve again at love to go up 2-1. Gauff later fended off a break point in her next service game before going up 3-1.
Gauff earned a security break late in the set when Vekic, as before, dropped her serve again at love. Gauff soon wrapped up the straight sets victory with a volley winner to the delight of the home crowd.
Next up for Gauff is No. 28 seed Magdalena Frech of Poland.
