Gauff improves to 2-0 in Paris with 1st singles win

PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff is 2-0 so far at the Paris Olympics after adding a 6-3, 6-0 singles victory over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic on Sunday to a win a day earlier in doubles alongside Jessica Pegula.

Gauff also is entered in mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz, which means there could be a lot of matches left to play at the 20-year-old American’s Summer Games debut. At least she hopes so.

“People in the (athletes) village are asking: ‘Oh, how many do you need to win?’” said Gauff, who is making her Olympic debut after testing positive for COVID-19 right before she was supposed to fly to the Tokyo Games three years ago. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know. I’m in three events, and I want to win all of them.’”

For the record: It would take 15 victories — six in singles, five in women’s doubles and four in mixed doubles — to collect a trio of tennis gold medals. No one has managed to do that since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988.

Gauff, who joined LeBron James as a flag bearer at the opening ceremony Friday night, took her latest step rather quickly, needing just 58 minutes to compile a 17-4 edge in winners against Tomljanovic, who beat Serena Williams at the 2022 U.S. Open in the last match of the 23-time major champ’s career.

When it ended, Gauff waved to the crowd, then moved her braids away from her back and pointed toward the white “USA” letters printed on her blue uniform.

“I’m not going to lie: I was more nervous in doubles than singles. I don’t know why. I think it’s just because it was the first match,” the No. 2-ranked Gauff said. “And I think when you start off a tournament with a win, especially one like this, it just gives you more confidence.”

Next up for the reigning champion at the U.S. Open in singles and the French Open in doubles is a second-round singles match Monday against Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina.