American Stars Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins Triumph in Roland Garros 2024 Openers
American tennis stars Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins showcased their talent and determination by advancing through the first round of the 2024 Roland Garros in straight sets.
On a rainy Monday in Paris, Gauff and Collins defeated Julia Avdeeva and Caroline Dolehide, respectively, to win their first round matches.
Rainy Monday in Paris was conquered by two American Top 10 players, Danielle Collins and Coco Gauff, who both won in straight sets to begin their Roland Garros campaigns.
Gauff, the 2022 runner-up and top seed, easily overcame Julia Avdeeva, a qualifier, 6-1, 6-3 in 53 minutes. Collins, who has declared that 2024 will be her last season on tour, triumphed over fellow countrywoman Caroline Dolehide, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was quite an easy match today,” Gauff remarked at the press conference after the game. It wasn’t very much work for me. I didn’t feel like I performed exceptionally well. All I had to do was play well today. That’s what I carried out.
Throughout the majority of the clay-court season, the 20-year-old has had trouble with her serve. She frequently recorded double-digit double faults at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. However, against Avdeeva, she only made four double faults, leveling the score with three aces and just one point behind her first serve.
Throughout the majority of the clay-court season, the 20-year-old has had trouble with her serve. She frequently recorded double-digit double faults at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. However, against Avdeeva, she only made four double faults, leveling the score with three aces and just one point behind her first serve.
“I make a lot of double faults because I tend to go down on my left side when I serve,” Gauff said in a press release. Thus, I believe the two key things are to simply maintain my left side up and to simply modify my throwing motion.
“You know, I believe that when I serve well, it’s always decent and has the potential to be a weapon, but I need to be more consistent with it. I believe that it’s improving match every match, and I feel rather sure about it at this point.
Gauff, who won her maiden Grand Slam championship at the 2023 US Open after hiring coach Brad Gilbert, had a breakout summer run. She is aiming to make it to a third consecutive major semifinal after finishing in the final four at the Australian Open in January. Dangerous qualifier Tamara Zidansek, who advanced to the semifinals in Paris back in 2021, stands in her way of securing a spot in the third round.
Gauff remarked, “She’s definitely a fighter,” but she acknowledged that she hasn’t seen many of her battles. She can make a lot of balls on the court and is a really excellent mover, therefore I believe she has good ball tolerance. It will therefore be a difficult match, particularly on clay, which I believe to be her favorite surface, though I may be mistaken.
Olga Danilovic, who challenged Collins to a third-set tiebreaker at the Caja Magica last month, has been matched against the No. 11-seeded Collins in the Mutua Madrid Open.
Also Read: Rafael Nadal’s Unexpected First-Round Exit at Roland Garros 2024 to Alexander Zverev
“I believe that the altitude in Madrid is one of the main differences between that week and this week. Collins gave a preview of her next game by saying, “It’s not drastic, but it does make a difference, and it does make a difference for many of the players.” We all discuss that. We alter our technique, rackets, and stringing all during the game. Thus, extremely diverse court speeds and conditions. Yes, I agree that this week’s game will be very different.
However, it’s clear that she’s been doing some amazing things and playing some really terrific tennis. In our most recent match, she pushed and challenged me. I will thus undoubtedly need to sit down, finish my schoolwork, and get ready for it because she is a really good tennis player.
Collins, 30, has been unstoppable since taking home the Miami Open title in March. He followed that up with a repeat victory at the Credit One Charleston Open and a trip to the Rome semifinals.
She lost to her childhood friend Madison Keys in last week’s Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she finished runner-up, although it was her first time back in the Top 10 since July 2022.
It seems like a lot of people have been saying things like, ‘Oh, you declared your retirement, so maybe you’re playing more freely.’ As a thirty-year-old woman with a lot of freedom in her life, I’m not really sure what it means. That genuinely perplexes me. However, I believe that my level of confidence on the court has always been fairly high.
“I think I’ve had a rather dull talk in the sense that, you know, it takes a lot of effort to figure things out and figure out how to make small modifications on your shots and get better tactically and technically little by little. I feel like I’m just putting people to sleep with that, but in all honesty, I believe that my improvements have been the reason for a lot of the success I’ve had in the last few weeks and months.
She outscored Dolehide 27 times to 19 unanswered, breaking serve three times to cross the finish line in 85 minutes.
Collins’ greatest performance at Roland Garros dates back to her quarterfinal run in 2020, when she defeated then-No. 30 seed Ons Jabeur and previous winner Garbine Muguruza in back-to-back sets, but ultimately fell to finalist Sofia Kenin.
Also Read: The Evolution of Tennis Racquets: From Wood to Modern Technology 2024 Updates
