Australian Open authority: Coco Gauff overwhelms Danilovic and advances with ease

Coco Gauff continues her run at the Australian Open, after overcoming lefty Olga Danilovic in straight sets with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2. The Serbian had just won a remarkable battle against Venus Williams – coming back from 0-4 down – but this time she was far below expectations.

The American, on the other hand, needed a convincing victory, after leaving some doubts in her debut against Kamilla Rakhimova – a match marked by her seven double faults and the consistent break opportunities she gave to her rival.

This time Gauff showed personality and precision to overcome a complicated opponent, and was much more imposing on serve. The American won 68% of points on her first serve, and took 84% of them, before securing a victory in which she earned five breaks and conceded only one of her service games.

Things went Gauff’s way from the start, taking advantage of her favoritism and the tension her rival showed from the beginning. Danilovic appeared particularly erratic and off the match’s rhythm from the outset. In just a few minutes of play, Gauff earned two breaks, and with little opposition on the return, she held five consecutive games to move ahead 5-0.

Danilovic managed to hold her serve for the first time in the 6th game, and took advantage of some doubts from Gauff in the next game – who committed unforced forehand errors but it didn’t cost her too much. Danilovic recovered one of the breaks, but immediately after, Gauff took her third consecutive break – and the set comfortably 6-2.

In the second set, things again looked bad for Danilovic, facing a Gauff who did not drop her serving effectiveness, while the European struggled to hold easy service games. The American earned an early break and moved ahead to 3-0, making it already seem like only a matter of time to close out the victory.

Danilovic had achieved a miraculous comeback against Venus Williams a couple of days earlier, but this time the gap was too big to recover, and Gauff was too determined to let her opportunity slip. The two-time Grand Slam champion held on to her serve for the rest of the set, and near the end – when leading 5-2 – took advantage of Danilovic’s errors to secure the triumph: 6-2, 6-2.

In the final moments, Gauff did not need to force her shots too much, knowing her rival was making constant mistakes. In the next round, she will face one of the surprises so far: world No. 70 Hailey Baptiste – who comes from eliminating Townsend and Hunter on her path.