1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Coco Gauff, of the United States, hits a return to Zeynep Sonmez, of Turkey, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Tuesday, Sept.
The fourth-seeded American defeated Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4 and had to deal with some impressive moments from her opponent. Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, now moves into the second round, where she will face either Paula Badosa or Daria Kasatkina. “Because, I mean, everyone’s very good in tennis nowadays, but specifically that girl I played today doesn’t have the experience that I do.
She won the Cincinnati title after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and Toronto, giving her plenty of momentum heading into New York.
“I know that I can raise my level if I need to do and I like to challenge my opponent to let them keep up the level the whole match,” Gauff said. “Just kept telling myself that everything is possible and just try to get myself in a good place mentally and just try to be a little bit more positive, try to make more balls, get myself into the match,” Sakkari said. So I just told myself, let’s try and hang in there, try and make more balls, and it worked. ” Cobolli summed up the Grand Slam mentality simply: “In Grand Slams it’s never done. You have to fight until the last point,” he said.
Coco Gauff began her US Open campaign with a straight-set win, but her opening match was far from effortless. “And if they do, I clap my hands and I walk off court with my head held high.
Gauff’s build-up to this year’s tournament has been far more encouraging than last year.