Coco Gauff Cruises into Wimbledon 3rd Round with Victory Over Anca Todoni

“I believe I may be overly critical because the score of 2-1 is clear-cut,” the always meticulous Gauff stated in her press conference following the game. “I believe it’s simply like moments; perhaps I missed a few shots that I would have made otherwise. In tennis, you will inevitably miss some shots that you would normally make. I’m attempting to concentrate on winning cleaner and straight sets.”

With just six games lost in her previous two matches at the All England Club, the No. 2 seed maintained her dominant form when playing beneath the No. 1 Court cover, dispatching the Romanian qualifier in 66 minutes.

“I obviously can’t be too harsh on myself today. Considering the score, I believe that on the court I was becoming a little bit more irritated than usual.”

Gauff overcame her nerves in her opening round match against good friend and fellow American Caroline Dolehide, and then turned her attention to Todoni, a teenager participating in her first Grand Slam main draw, a year after she suffered a heartbreaking first-round loss that sent her on a career-best run that culminated in her maiden major victory at the US Open.

At the beginning of 2023, the 19-year-old Romanian was not even in the Top 800. However, in the previous 18 months, she has risen to the top of the rankings and is about to make her Top 100 debut. After advancing through the qualifying rounds, Todoni triumphed against fortunate loser OIga Danilovic to earn her first Grand Slam victory and schedule a date with the highly successful Gauff.

Gauff started the match with a break, navigating through two challenging games in an effort to maintain her lead. In the fourth game, when Todoni looked to tie the opening set, Gauff saved two break points.

Things became easier for the world No. 2 as she hung on, as she won five of six games to take a set and a break. Even her misses were accurate: a shanked forehand return allowed the ball to stay in play by threading the needle through the roof of the No. 1 Court. Despite managing to score once for 1-2, a furious Todoni was unable to win the next four games as Gauff broke for an almost faultless victory.

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Gauff lost only three points after her first serve, hitting 13 winners against 16 unforced errors, and making five of nine break attempts. Todoni, on the other hand, committed 23 unforced errors overall and failed to capitalize on the two break opportunities she had in the opening set. Gauff’s opponent in the second week will be Sonay Kartal, a British qualifier.

“It will be tough to face a Brit obviously, especially on grass,” Gauff added. “I think that they always do really well, but especially in this environment.”

Kartal, 22, won her maiden Grand Slam main draw match on Monday against Sorana Cirstea, the 29th seed, much to the delight of the home audience. She followed up the upset triumph with a three-set victory over Clara Burel of France.