No. 3 seed Coco Gauff cut a frustrated figure on court more than once in her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday—and, frankly, the top-ranked American woman had more than enough reasons to feel aggrieved. Facing world No. 52 Moyuka Uchijima, Gauff racked up 21 double faults, accumulated more than 70 unforced errors, and found herself struggling to put away a player who may even have been feeling the effects of an abdominal injury as the match wore on.
But, as Tennis Channel commentator Chanda Rubin said at one stage of the third set, as Gauff finished off a long point by showing off athleticism at the net: “It wasn’t pretty, but she got it done.”
The world No. 3 snapped a three-match losing streak with a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory on Stadium 2 in more than two hours, marking her first match win since beating Belinda Bencic in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Jan. 18.
“It wasn’t my best tennis at all today, but I’m just happy to get through,” Gauff confessed afterwards. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and I’m just happy to get a win on the court.
“No one likes to lose, and I came in here with determination. It wasn’t my best tennis, but a win is a win.”
