PARIS — Coco Gauff got off to a terrific start in the French Open's third round Saturday, taking 12 of the first 15 points for a 3-0 lead after just 10 minutes. The rest of the opening set went smoothly, too.
Things got much tougher from there, and the 2023 U.S. Open champion was merely two points from dropping the second set, before getting back in the right direction and defeating Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 7-6 (3) to reach Week 2 at Roland-Garros for the fifth consecutive year.
''Obviously,'' Gauff said, ''I can do some things better.''
Gauff, a 21-year-old from Florida, was the runner-up in Paris in 2022 and is seeded No. 2 at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament this year.
Next up for her will be a matchup on Monday against No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the winner moving into the quarterfinals.
After needing just a half-hour to claim the first set Saturday, Gauff wound up in a 75-minute struggle in the second.
That set included eight breaks of serve in a row as the sounds of popping fireworks drifted over to Court Philippe-Chatrier from the nearby soccer stadium belonging to Paris Saint-Germain, whose fans were gathering to attend a watch party ahead of the Champions League final against Italy's Inter Milan in Munich, Germany, later Saturday night.
''I served a bit more aggressive in the first set, so I was holding easier, and maybe got a little bit too passive on the serve in the second, and it allowed her to get back into the match,'' Gauff said. ''Just keeping the aggressive mindset is something that I can do better for the next match.''
