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.
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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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).