By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, March 22, 2024
Coco Gauff beat the rain and Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-2 to speed into the Miami Open third round five years after she earned her first pro win in Miami.
Photo credit: Michael Owens/Getty
Clad in a canary-colored New Balance outfit, Coco Gauff brought home sunshine to a dreary day.
In a match delayed near five hours by rain, Gauff streaked past Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-2 into the Miami Open third round.
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A crackling first serve and electric athleticism carried the Delray Beach-born baseliner through today.
Gauff served 64 percent, won 34 of 39 first-serve points and erased all five break points in a strong 77-minute triumph.
"You can't control the weather," Gauff told the media in Miami. "Honestly, it was looking so promising when I stepped on the court. I was like, Maybe it won't rain again today. I didn't really think about trying to finish until the last game of the match when I kind of saw it getting darker, then they turned on the lights, the temperature dropped. I'm from here, so I know that's like rain coming any second.
"That's when I thought about the weather. It was like, Okay, let's get it done. Especially a match like this where you're so close to finishing. I honestly didn't want to come out here tomorrow where it's supposed to rain and wait all day again to play. I was like, Let me try to get it done as quick as possible."
“Happy to be done; I think it’s gonna rain soon, so I’m happy to get out of here,” Gauff told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj afterward. “I think towards the end, like I felt the temperature dropping.
"Like, it would suck to come out tomorrow like 5-2 with a lead because you never know what could happen. Maybe she rolls off a couple of games.
“I felt the momentum was on my side. I thought I played a good match. I thought I was aggressive. It was not easy, honestly. The conditions were so slow because of the rain. I feel like it suits her game more because she usually likes to play on the clay court.”
The 20-year-old Gauff, the youngest American to hold a Top 3 seed in Miami, improves to 17-4 on the season.
US Open champion Gauff will face either 33-year-old left-hander Arantxa Rus or Oceane Dodin for a round of 16 spot.
“Honestly, I did not think we were going to play today so I felt like I had turned off the mind a bit,” Gauff said. “I was walking around talking, which is what I would have done during a five-hour delay. You can’t be locked in that long, it’s impossible.
“Then at like 3:50, they’re like we think there’s gonna be a window. We didn’t know how long the window was but it was long enough for me to do what I had to do.”
Five years ago, a 15-year-old Gauff rallied from 2-4 down in the decisive set to edge sometime doubles partner Caty McNally, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a Miami Open opener before a packed Court 5 crowd that included Kathy Rinaldi, Patrick Mouratoglou, Tony Godsick, and veteran coach Sven Groeneveld, who previously coached Maria Sharapova.
“I still don't believe that I won,” a smiling Gauff said that day. “After the match, I served for the match and I was, like, ‘Do I have to return again, or do we shake hands? I didn't really think it was over.’
“This is a dream, like, I have been dreaming of this moment for years, just playing in the Miami Open. And I have been coming to this tournament since I was eight or nine years old. Watching the players here and actually being in the same tournament, being in the same area as players that I've watched since practically I was born, it's so surreal to me.”
Taking the court today as a Grand Slam champion and firm favorite, Gauff played with energy and urgency eager to wrap up before another potential rain delay.
Struggling to find the court, Podoroska slung a backhand into net as Gauff scored the first break for a 3-1 lead.
The US Open cruised through a comfortable hold at 15 to confirm the break for 4-1.
Quick off the mark, Gauff hit a running forehand crosscourt coaxing an error for her second break and a 5-1 lead after 27 minutes.
Playing much cleaner shots, Gauff drew a netted error converting her third set point for a one-set lead after 32 minutes. Gauff won 14 of 16 first-serve points in the first set.
Gauff reeled off seven consecutive games turning a 1-1 tie into a 6-1, 2-0 lead and pounding the Podoroska backhand repeatedly to rattle out errors.
Credit Podoroska for fending off four match points as Gauff served for the match at 6-1, 5-2.
Showing some serious speed and spring, Gauff fell to the court chasing a ball behind her, got it back as she crashed to the court, and got up to win the point for a fifth match point.
On the 14th shot fo the next rally, Gauff banged a backhand pass down the line to complete safe passage into the round of 32 with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph.
Finishing off her opener in time for dinner, Gauff talked competitive hunger afterward.
"I think just my goals: I just want to win as much as possible," Gauff said. "Yeah, I think the taste of winning is something indescribable, especially big tournaments. So I just want to keep tasting it."