In pain, Gauff overcomes Yastremska in her Madrid debut

Coco Gauff battled hard and had to dig deep this Thursday to advance to the second round of the WTA 1000 in Madrid against Dayana Yastremska (0-6, 6-2, 7-5).

The two players had faced each other twice last year on clay, with the American winning both matches in straight sets. This time, the fight was intense, with plenty of twists and turns.

Yastremska started the match confidently, taking the first set without dropping a single game after about 20 minutes of play. Gauff seemed completely overwhelmed, managing only 29% of first serves and committing 17 unforced errors for just two winners.

The world No. 4, who has never gone further than the quarterfinals in Madrid, adjusted her focus in the second set, breaking her opponent’s serve three times to level the match at one set apiece.

The third and final set was full of suspense, with Gauff earning three match points at 5-3 but failing to convert them. Despite Yastremska breaking back in the next game, the American kept her composure and held firm at 6-5, serving for the match a second time.

After this hard-fought opener, Gauff will need to sharpen her game against fellow American Ann Li, ranked 62nd in the world, in the third round.