US Open: Coco Gauff Loses Opener, Novak Djokovic Starts Strong

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Coco Gauff won’t repeat her magical run in the 2019 US Open this year, as the teenage sensation lost her first-round match to Anastasija Sevastova on Monday.

US Open Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff dropped her opening match at the US Open on Monday, losing to Anastasija Sevastova in three sets. (Image: Getty)

Sevastova defeated the 16-year-old Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in an empty Louis Armstrong Stadium on the opening day of the 2020 US Open.

Double Faults Sink Gauff

The 31st-seeded Sevastova took advantage of 13 double faults from Gauff, who impressed her veteran opponent despite the loss.

“I wish I would play like this when I was 16 years old,” Sevastova said after the match. “I think she maybe started a bit slower than me, but she was getting better as the match went on.”

Some commentators opined that the lack of a crowd may have hurt Gauff, as the New York audience would have supported the American. But she rejected that excuse for her loss.

“I think I compete just as hard with fans or not,” Gauff said. “I could have played better today.”

US Open Odds (Selected Tuesday Matches)

  • No. 3 Serena Williams (-1400) vs. Kristie Ahn (+760)
  • No. 2 Sofia Kenin (-1500) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (+790)
  • No. 2 Dominic Thiem (-3000) vs. Jaume Munar (+1120)
  • No. 20 Karolina Muchova (-220) vs. Venus Williams (+176)
  • No. 3 Daniil Medvedev (-8000) vs. Federico Delbonis (+2200)

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Both No. 1 seeds were in action on Monday. Karolina Pliskova had little trouble getting by Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 6-0 in her opener, while Novak Djokovic swept aside Damir Dzumhur in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.

Djokovic lost focus a couple of times during the match – he was unaware of rules regarding the amount of time between points at the US Open – but overall, looked sharp. The men’s No. 1 is now a perfect 24-0 for the 2020 season.

“Do I want to keep the streak going? Of course I do,” Djokovic said after the win. “It actually fuels me to play even strong, play even better, I think, bring the right intensity every match.”

Fourth-seeded Naomi Osaka also won her first match, beating Misaki Doi 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, while men’s fifth seed Alexander Zverev needed four sets to beat Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.

Schwartzman, Isner Among Monday’s Biggest Upsets

While most of the top players in the field breezed through their matches on Monday, there were a handful of notable upsets as well. Diego Schwartzman became the first top-10 seed to lose, as the Argentinian blew a two-set lead to Cam Norrie to fall 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.

“The tennis level from me wasn’t that great, but I had a pretty good attitude and was fortunate to sneak through. It was a tough one,” Norrie said afterwards. “The first two sets I was rushing everything and making too many errors. But I backed myself physically and he was struggling a bit at the end.”

No. 16 seed John Isner lost to fellow American Steve Johnson, while men’s No. 18 Dusan Lajovic and women’s No. 32 Rebecca Peterson also dropped their openers.

First-round matches continue at the US Open on Tuesday. Key clashes include Serena Williams (-1400, according to FanDuel Sportsbook) taking on Kristie Ahn (+760), No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin (-1500) battling Yanin Wickmayer (+790), and men’s No. 2 Dominic Thiem (-3000) playing Jaume Munar (+1120).

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