“You’ve got to laugh”: Coco Gauff finds the funny side after nightmare start against Samsonova

She was utterly blown away in the first set, Going a break behind instantly before losing the final three games to get off to the worst start possible in rapid time. It did not take long for Samsonova to lead the two-time Grand Slam champion, and Gauff was not impressed.

While her first serve points were at a high level, she won just a single point on her second serve which is a cause for concern. She created no break points against the serve, a combination that the ultimate feeling of a losing one.

Sat at the changeover following that first set collapse, Gauff did not look amused as she pondered her plan of action in getting back into this tie. Following the eventual win, she posted a comical post of herself on her Instagram page in which reacting to those opening stages.

Sitting with an umbrella above her head with a facial expression showing that she was not amused, Gauff reacted to the video with the caption: "Me trying to figure out how I stepped on court 20 mins ago and already lost the first set."

Eventually she collected herself, stumbling through a couple of rain delays to get herself back in the match and eventually into the third round. It is the seventh time she has competed in Cincinnati, but just the third that she has made it past the second round. A bizarre stat by the 2023 winner whose fortunes in Ohio are mixed.

Around this time last year, Gauff made the bold decision to bring in Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics specialist. His job was to fix Gauff's serve which had been a point of concern. The double fault tally was racking up with her second serve increasingly vulnerable.

That has not been the case to that extent in the prior months, especially from the grass swing where visible improvements have been noted. The 22-year-old will hope this continues as she explained to the Tennis Channel the key differences she and her team have made.

“Overall, I think, you know, I thought I served well," she said. "I think that kind of helped me carry me through when I wasn’t feeling so great off the ground, and then eventually things started to click; I started to return better. So yeah.

“I mean, I think I’m just going big, honestly. I feel like I’m really confident on my serve now, so I’m going for it pretty much almost all times, unless, you know, I feel like my percentage is too low, but I think the biggest thing that has made the difference is just mixing up the versatility. I feel like I’m mixing it up a lot on my serve, so it’s tough to read, and, yeah, I think I’m doing a good job with that and just trying to keep it improving.”

Gauff will take part in an all-American third round contest against Ann Li. Gauff holds a 3-0 lead over Li without even dropping a set. It is set to be their first encounter in 2026 with a possible showdown against either Iva Jovic or Marie Bouzkova in the last-16 on the line.