
Coco Gauff cruised to the third round of the Wimbledon championships on Thursday, as she defeated Elena Vesnina in a dominant display on Centre Court.
The American required just 71 minutes to complete the 6-4 6-3 victory, saving two break points at 2-3 in the first set before racing through the rest of the match.
“It did feel different [to her previous Centre Court experience in 2019],” Gauff said after the match. “I honestly was more nervous coming in to today’s match. I think the biggest thing is I don’t really remember much from my Centre Court experience in 2019, I feel like it was all a blur.
“Going into today, I felt like a completely different player and person. I felt like there were moments in the match when the pressure was on, where I could have mentally disengaged with the match in the past, but I did a good job of calming my nerves."
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The 17-year old was impressive on serve, hitting 71% of her first serves in the first set. The 20th seed even hit her first 120mph serve of the tournament, and credits her newfound weapon as one of the reasons for her recent success.
“For me, it was just trying to get a rhythm, I made a lot of unforced errors, more than I’m used to, but when I needed to step in, I did and my serve is really what helped me today," admitted Gauff. "My serve has been helping me all throughout the French and all throughout here so that’s what I relied on today.”
Gauff will now face the unseeded Kaja Juvan in the third round, as the Slovenian defeated Clara Burel in their second round encounter.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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- I, like writer of this wonderful article, also picked Noskova to win this entire thing. I would love it if she and Andreeva are in the final.Rapunzel12-11-2026
- "Priorities", Saba... spend less time in front of cameras, anti-Social Media, selfies and back to Tennis.
mandoist12-11-2026 - Tell this to Andreeva!
mandoist12-11-2026 - Andreeva with 11 games in a row to add to Saba's downward spiral issue !!! Personal feelings aside... Jess Pegula may want to reassess her evaluation of Mirra's abilities.
mandoist12-11-2026 - I predicted whenthe list was finalised that Linda Noskova would win the WTA Finals and her matches against Gauff and Kostyuk prove that. She is the best (underrated) player in the world!Rapunzel11-11-2026
- Either Lena has a chronic internal ailment (i.e., colitis, enteritis, Crohn's, or some type of lower abdomen issue) -- or she is once again dealing with 'Vukovitis'. Mental stress can indeed cause lower body pains. No matter... whatever is truly going on sucks. "Virus" excuse is getting a bit old -- and often -- at this point.
mandoist09-11-2026 - Ironically, Martina became a U.S. Citizen about the same time as the Orange Convicted Felon & Abuser was just beginning on his road to losing all Daddy's Millions!!
mandoist09-11-2026 - "Another fresh start is in the cards." Thanks for the Humor!! I'm guessing this is the minimum one can do to keep all your sponsors hanging-on in perpetuity?
mandoist09-11-2026 - Vukov is doing this to Lena... AGAIN!!!!! WTA's autonomous collective should be dismantled for allowing Vukov to re-emerge from his hand-slapping suspension. Just ask WTA employees how that's been going lately as they witness his continued verbal abuses. Women's Pro Tennis should start over.
mandoist08-11-2026 - Can't help but suspect Vukov is back to his old self again. Thank you, WTA. Perhaps you can give them a "Battling Couple of the Year Award 2026" ??
mandoist08-11-2026








