By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday January 5 2020
Coco Gauff turned in a poised, stellar performance in her 2020 season opener and easily pushed past 2019 semi-finalist Viktoria Kuzmova 6-3 6-1 in 62 minutes.
Gauff was steady and patient throughout the encounter and jumped out to big leads in both sets. The American, ranked 67 in the world, used an array of drop shots, penetrating backhands, and forehand topspin, and seemed to be a step ahead of Kuzmova throughout the contest.
Gauff struck 15 winners against 10 unforced errors, and made Kuzmova work for every point. The Slovakian is currently ranked 56 in the world but she looked overmatched from a tactical standpoint against Gauff. Kuzmova earned three break points but could not convert any of them. Gauff, meanwhile, converted all four of her chances to increase the distance between herself and her opponent.
The American will face either Laura Siegemund or Alison Van Uytvanck in her next match, and she could potentially face Serena Williams in the quarterfinals at Auckland.
Williams saw action on the doubles court on Monday in Auckland, alongside longtime friend Caroline Wozniacki. The decorated tandem eased past Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya 6-2 6-4.
Wozniacki will end her playing career at the Australian Open, which is slated to begin in two weeks.
In other first-round action on Monday at Auckland Russia’s Daria Kasatkina defeated Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 3-6 6-2, while Caroline Garcia defeated Taylor Townsend 5-7 6-3 7-5.
Eugenie Bouchard was a winner as well. The Canadian defeated Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 7-5 7-5.