Coco Gauff was in inspired form this afternoon, as she soared into the second round of the French Open.
Facing Olivia Gadecki, it was expected that the American would win with some ease, despite there being quiet murmurs of discontent from some about her serve and forehand.
However, both held up well enough to dispatch the Australian in straight sets on Philippe Chatrier.
Naturally, everyone who now graces this court can’t help but think of Rafael Nadal, given the stadium has now been forever immortalised with his footprint.
In her post-match on-court interview, the Spaniard’s name did crop up.
Coco Gauff honours Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros
First talking about a hilarious moment before the match, where she showcased her empty bag to her team, Gauff did not hold back in blaming her coach for the lack of rackets.
Once they had finished with that, attention then returned to Nadal.
Asked what her favourite traits that the Spaniard embodied, she replied quickly: ’Definitely resilience. I think that he has so much resilience and the intensity. He was my favourite person to watch practice. I would just sit and literally watch him practise, just rally, because it was so intense.
‘I try to do the same but obviously he’s one of the greatest people to practise, the GOAT on clay, the legacy that he’s left not only in Roland Garros but all over the world of tennis is insane. I’m just glad that I was able to play a little bit on tour at the same time as him.’
Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu reacted to Nadal’s Roland Garros ceremony, which brought many to tears as they honoured the 14-time champion at the event.
Coco Gauff cruises into the French Open second round
Although it was a comprehensive victory for Gauff, winning 6-2, 6-2, similar issues from recent months did re-emerge.
This suggests that, since the Italian Open final, where her high unforced errors and struggling serve let her down against Jasmine Paolini, there has been little improvement.
In such a short space of time though, not much could have been done.
Despite breaking Gadecki six times, Gauff still served up seven double faults and 22 unforced errors, hitting just 15 winners.
It feels like, whilst the 21-year-old has cruised into round two of the French Open, the same old worries surrounding her game remain. These are areas she will want to tighten up before she faces a greater threat than the world number 109.
