Gauff scores upset in Paris
Sixteen- year- old defeats No. 9 seed Konta in straight sets in American’s debut at Roland Garros.
PARIS — Prepping in the relative warmth of a gym before heading out with leggings and long sleeves to make her French Open debut against the tournament’s No. 9 seed, Coco Gauff got a pep talk from Dad.
“His goal was to become an NBA player, and he didn’t make it. He told me: ‘ You’re living your dream. Not everybody gets to do that. Just have fun on the court.’ That really changed my perspective,” the 16- year- old Gauff recounted. “I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down.”
On a rather unusual start to things at Roland Garros — postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Day 1 arrived in September instead of May, with only 1,000 spectators allowed instead of more than 30,000 as COVID- 19 cases rise in France — Gauff offered the latest proof that she can do most of what she wishes to on a tennis court.
Using forehand slices to throw off her older, more experienced opponent, and unbothered by her own 12 double- faults, Gauff stayed steady at the most crucial moments to beat Johanna Konta 6- 3, 6- 3 and reach the second round. This was Gauff ’s fourth victory over an opponent ranked in the top 20.
In other f irst- round matches, Simona Halep stretched her winning streak to 15 matches by defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6- 4, 6- 0; No. 17 Anett Kontaveit and No. 24 Dayana Yastremska lost. One of the day’s most- lopsided score lines came in one of the most- anticipated matchups: Stan Wawrinka beat Andy Murray 6- 1, 6- 3, 6- 2 in the f irst meeting between male Grand Slam champions in the first round at Roland Garros since 1999. Other seeded men’s losers: U. S. Open quarterfinalist Borna Coric, No. 25 Alex de Minaur and No. 32 Dan Evans.