Tennis-Gauff calms her nerves and finds her serve to advance

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2024 Coco Gauff of the U.S. in action during her first round match against Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova REUTERS/Edgar Su

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Coco Gauff calmed her opening round nerves to beat Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0 at the Australian Open on Monday, with the fourth seed taking some time to find her groove on serve after making some adjustments ahead of the new season.

Gauff, the newest member of the Grand Slam champions club after her U.S. Open success last September, traded breaks freely with Schmiedlova after her opening service game but settled into her stride to produce a late hold and wrap up the first set.