It was inevitable that a first meeting between Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu would be billed as a glimpse into the future of women’s tennis.
Gifted, engaging and young – Gauff is still a teenager, Raducanu just weeks into her twenties – both are the stuff of marketing dreams. Better yet, each covets what the other has, lending their rivalry a certain frisson even at this early stage. Raducanu, who came through qualifying to win the US Open only three months after leaving school, has a grand slam title but, paradoxically, lacks experience. Gauff, who first announced herself to the world by making the fourth round of Wimbledon as a 15-year-old, has packed plenty into her short career, but has yet to land a major. In time, both will surely fill those gaps.
Yet the pair do not have a monopoly on youth. Iga Swiatek, the undisputed world No 1, is only a year older than Raducanu. Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin, both grand slam champions, are still under 25, as is Aryna Sabalenka, for whom a grand slam breakthrough feels ever closer. China’s Qinwen Zheng, 20, looks destined for great things, while Linda Novoska and Linda Fruhvirtova, both 17, head a talented generation of rising young stars from the Czech Republic.
What singles out Gauff and Raducanu as special is not merely youth, but what they have achieved at such a young age. Raducanu is a grand slam champion. Gauff has three titles, reached her first major final at Roland Garros last year, and has been ranked as high as fourth in the world. The pair are not just the future of the women’s game, but also the here and now.
Handed the primetime slot on Rod Laver Arena, they demonstrated as much, shaking off a slow start to stage a lively contest that pitted the strength and precision of Raducanu’s ball-striking against Gauff’s outstanding movement and defensive prowess.
That the American eventually prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) owed much to the mental strength she showed when, having led by a set and a break, she was belatedly drawn into a dogfight as her forehand, relentlessly targeted by Raducanu, began to break down.
Gauff’s victory was also down to her ability to navigate the crisis that arrived when the British No 1 held two set points against her serve at 5-4. On both occasions, the teenager kept the ball in play just long enough for Raducanu to miss, first when a backhand flew long and then with a fractionally under-hit drop shot.
“She is a great mover, great athlete,” acknowledged Raducanu. “Puts another ball in play, so you feel like you have to squeeze it closer to the line, and then she kind of teases errors out of you that way.”
That Raducanu came so close to forcing a decider against a top-10 player is a tribute to the recovery work she put in after spraining an ankle in Auckland 11 days before the tournament.
“With what I had, to be in the draw right now is a massive effort and achievement,” said Raducanu. “I would say all the chips were against us, and the chances of me playing this tournament were very, very low. I had extremely limited practice time.
“I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best today. Although in the second set I had chances and was pushing, I felt like I could have done better myself.
“I’d really like to play her again. I think that maybe with more than five hours under my belt of practice.”
It was nonetheless an accomplished and mature display from Gauff, whose growing ability to hold her nerve in the crunch moments speaks volumes for her progress.
“I think I did a good job not freaking out on my serve,” said Gauff, who will play Bernarda Pera in round three. “After I got broken, I needed to hold at 4-5. Honestly one of those set points definitely had the ball on her racquet with the drop shot. I got a little bit lucky there.
“But for the most part I think I stayed calm when I needed to and made the serve when I needed to, held when I needed to. I think that definitely comes with maturity. I feel like in the past I would have freaked out in that moment.”
Maria Sakkari earlier survived a testy encounter with Russian qualifier Diana Shnaider, a feisty, free-swinging southpaw who took the opening set and then raised the hackles of the Greek sixth seed with her overexuberant celebrations.
Things came to a head late in the second set after Shnaider, pumping her fist and repeatedly roaring in triumph, saved three set points to hold for 5-5. Wagging her finger in reproof, Sakkari approached the chair umpire, Christian Rask, and told him: “If she screams one more time in my face, I’m going to call the referee.” It proved a tipping point in the contest, Sakkari conceding only three more games as she closed out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.
“During a match you can be very pumped,” said Sakkari. “The way that some players celebrate their points, it’s not appropriate. I wasn’t happy with that. But, you know, she never did it again. That was very nice of her.”
There were no such difficulties for Iga Swiatek, the Polish top seed resisting a late fightback from Colombia’s Camila Osorio to seal a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Jessica Pegula also advanced in straight sets, claiming a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.
Elsewhere, though, it was a torrid day for some of the big names in the women’s draw. Daria Kasatkina, the world No 8, suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of fellow Russian Varvara Gracheva, while former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded 15th, was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine.
Spain’s Cristina Bucsa secured a 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu, putting paid to hopes of a third-round meeting between the former US Open champion and Swiatek, while Sloane Stephens, another former winner at Flushing Meadows, fell 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to Russia’s Anastasia Potapova.