Third-seeded Coco Gauff produced the second double bagel of her WTA Tour career, shutting out U.S. compatriot Sofia Kenin 6-0, 6-0 on Thursday in the second round of the Miami Open.
The only other 6-0, 6-0 victory for Gauff came at Madrid in 2024 against the Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus.
Gauff entered the week having lost four of her past six matches, a run that began with a defeat at the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She dropped her opening match at both Doha, Qatar, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, then was eliminated in the round of 16 at Indian Wells, Calif.
Those struggles vanished on Thursday, when Gauff completed her day’s work in 47 minutes.
“I was definitely playing well today, and maybe (Kenin) wasn’t playing her peak great tennis,” Gauff said. “I don’t think anyone who is playing their best tennis will have that scoreline today, so I’m not going to say she played her best tennis.
“I think it was a combination of me playing really well, it was really great tennis from me, and maybe her not playing as well.”
Gauff said of her recent struggles, “I know where I personally stand in my game. Yes, it’s not been up to my standards, but at the same time, you know, we are just March and our season ends in November. There is a lot of time to improve.
“Today I wasn’t going in with that in my mind. It just happened to be a great day for me.”
Next up for Gauff will be 28th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, who edged Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Thursday.
In other second-round action, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had no trouble beating Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-0.
Sabalenka is aiming to shake off defeats in the championship matches at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
“I cannot complain about my season,” she said. “Of course, I lost (the) two biggest finals. But it’s only a lesson, not that big of a loss, to be honest. I feel like my tennis is getting better every day.
“Of course Miami, there is only one thing everyone wants here is to win the title. I really hope I can play same way I played at Indian Wells and improve in the finals. Get better a little bit those last stages of the tournament, maybe less stressed and more focused on myself. Let’s just take it step by step.”
Japan’s Naomi Osaka toppled 24th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-4, with the Russian one of numerous seeded players to fall.
The United States’ Ashlyn Krueger beat seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, while Hailey Baptiste of the United States upset 12th-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, and Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic crushed 16th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-0, 6-2.
Poland’s Magda Linette took down 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 7-6 (5), 6-2, and the United States’ Taylor Townsend dispatched 19th-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-1. Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova bounced 21st-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-1, 6-3, and Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse bested 29th-seeded Magdelena Frech of Poland 6-4, 6-4.
Also advancing were ninth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China, sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 14th-seeded Danielle Collins of the United States, 26th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada and 31st-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
–Field Level Media
