NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former champion Coco Gauff launched her US Open campaign with a 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 win over unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round on Tuesday, as the American navigated a big test following a late coaching shake-up ahead of the year's final Grand Slam.
Gauff, who arrived in New York after splitting with mentor Matt Daly and hiring biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan to address her lingering service issues, made a shaky start under the prime time glare of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 2023 champion dropped the opening game on her delivery and produced a flurry of errors but soon shook off the cobwebs and grabbed a 5-4 lead with an ace out wide, eventually taking the first set with a decisive break.
"There were chances for it to be a straight-sets win, but it was tough," Gauff added.
"I felt she was getting so many balls back and I was trying to push her back, and she's standing on top of the baseline. It wasn't the best but I'm happy to go through to the next round."
Tomljanovic, who famously battled past Serena Williams in three sets at Flushing Meadows in 2022, was in need of a similar fightback when twice major champion Gauff built up a 4-2 lead in the second set.
The Australian rallied bravely from there to move ahead 5-4 before squandering two set points, but composed herself quickly and forced a tiebreak, where she raised her game again to make it one set apiece.
A nervous Gauff served consecutive double faults at 5-4 in the decider before regaining composure to surge ahead 6-5 and wrap up the win with a sublime backhand winner to massive cheers from the home crowd.
"I had so many chances," said Gauff, who faces another tough outing in the next round against Paris Olympics silver medallist Donna Vekic.
"I was like, eventually they're going to come. I had chances to close it out too. I had chances to go up double break so many times. So yeah, it's just like eventually one of these is going to go my way."
Although she finished with a flourish, Gauff will be aware of the improvement needed after making 59 unforced errors, with 10 double faults. She admitted the last few days preparing for the tournament with a coaching addition had been tough.
"One of the days was mentally exhausting, but I'm trying," Gauff added.
"I mean, it wasn't the best today but ... it came in when it mattered. It's an improvement from last week. I'm just trying to improve with each match."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in New York; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
