Coco Gauff secured her first win since the Australian Open on Saturday, battling through a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima at Indian Wells.
Despite struggling with 21 double faults and a series of unforced errors, the world number three showed resilience in securing the win. Gauff admitted she wasn’t happy with her performance, but was pleased to get back to winning ways after a tough few weeks.
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and I’m just happy to get a win on the court,” Gauff said. “It wasn’t my best tennis, but a win is a win.”
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, was granted a first-round bye in the combined ATP Masters and WTA 1000 event, while Uchijima, ranked 52nd, had previously defeated Britain’s Emma Raducanu in straight sets.
The match saw Gauff race to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but she struggled to close it out, failing to serve for the match twice. Finally, she sealed the win in a tense tiebreaker on her fifth match point.
Gauff will now face Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the third round. Sakkari, who ended a three-match losing streak, triumphed 6-0, 6-3 over Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova.
Sakkari defeated Gauff in last year’s Indian Wells semi-finals en route to her second final in three years.
