Coco Gauff says a pep talk helped her overcome early nerves as she cruised through her first Grand Slam match as a major champion at the Australian Open.
The 19-year-old American, who won her maiden major title at the US Open in September, won 6-3 6-0 against Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
“I told myself: ‘I feel good, I look good so just have fun.’ I was able to relax,” said the fourth seed.
Wimbledon champion,Marketa Vondrousova, suffered a shock exit on day two.
Vondrousova, ranked seventh in the world, became the highest seed to fall so far in round one, suffering a 6-1 6-2 defeat by Ukrainian qualifier,Dayana Yastremska.
Afterwards, Yastremska said her grandmother’s house was recently hit by a rocket in the ongoing war in her home country.
The 23-year-old said the resistance showed by her country against the Russian invasion is what motivates her on court.
“To talk about what is going on in Ukraine in a couple of seconds is not enough,” she said in her on-court interview.
“I’m proud of Ukraine, proud of the people, the warriors and the people.
“When I was in Brisbane, before the match I was told a rocket arrived on my grandmother’s house. It was hard to play.
“We need to remember about the war and give as much support to Ukraine as possible.”
ElinaSvitolina, another Ukrainian who has spoken at length about the impact of the war, is also through.
The 19th seed needed 59 minutes to complete a 6-2 6-2 win over Australian, wildcard Taylah Preston.
Tunisian sixth seed,OnsJabeur, took just 67 minutes to beat Ukrainian qualifier,YuliaStarodubtsewa, 6-3 6-1.
But Croatian 21st seed, Donna Vekic, lost 6-4 6-4 to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Czech 31st seed Marie Bouzkova suffered an early exit against 19-year-old compatriot Linda Noskova, losing 6-1 7-5.
–BBC
