MELBOURNE: US Open champion Coco Gauff eased through to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, beating fellow American Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.
The fourth seed raced into a 4-1 lead on Margaret Court Arena before being reeled back by her unseeded opponent.
However, Gauff was relatively untroubled in the tie-break, winning it 7-2.
The second set went with serve until the fifth game, when Gauff broke. She repeated the feat and survived multiple break points on her serve to clinch the match.
“I wasn’t nervous today, I was just trying to play good tennis,” said Gauff, 19.
“If you give her something short, she’s going to punish you for it. So I think if I could go back, I would try to play more deeper, more heavy like I did in the second (set).”
She will play another American, Alycia Parks, in the third round.