COCO GAUFF DONS STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM NAILS AS SHE SWEEPS ASIDE GRAND SLAM DEBUTANTE ANCA TODONI... WITH AMERICAN SENSATION STRENGTHENING BID FOR HER FIRST WIMBLEDON TITLE

• Coco Gauff is aiming to better her career best fourth round at Wimbledon
• The US Open champion is one of the leading contenders for this year's title
• Up against Anca Todoni, she showed the gulf between two very young players 

For once, it was Coco Gauff stepping out onto court as the veteran of the match-up.

It doesn't happen often, not at aged 20, but with Grand Slam debutante Anca Todoni, herself only 19, on the opposite side of the net, this was a tale of two players at very different stages of their careers.

Here was Gauff, No 2 seed at Wimbledon after her US Open win last year, playing in her twentieth Grand Slam. Twenty at 20. Remarkable.

And here was Todoni, who, with her first round win over Olga Danilovic, bettered her prize money from the entire year so far with a £93,000 pay cheque for reaching round two. Every day her Wimbledon stay extended was living out a dream.

Watching Todoni, a fierce striker of the ball who has all the tools to go far in this game, thrash her returns wildly long in the opening game en route to being broken by Gauff showcased a player that was feeling the nerves in the biggest game of her career to date.

That's understandable. Not everyone can follow in Gauff's footsteps, a 15-year-old here five years ago who strode out onto Centre Court and shocked the world with a straight sets win over her idol Venus Williams.

Three unforced errors on returns from Todoni allowed Gauff an early head-start - not the wisest idea when playing one of the tournament favourites - and from there the American put her foot on the throttle.

This was a partisan crowd for the most part for Gauff but, to her credit, Todoni did not crumble under the bright lights.

Down a break point in the third game, a vicious forehand down the line saved the break, before she got herself on the board courtesy of a forehand error from Gauff.

Gauff's first serve, stuck at a lowly 38 per cent in the opening set, was problematic but she is such a fine returner that she rarely looked ruffled. She finished the match with her first serves in at just 44 per cent which is something to work on for round three.

A rare cry of 'come on' broke the silence from Gauff when she saved a break point in the fourth game of the opening set as Todoni looked to land a blow of her own. She didn't and from there it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it to closing out the first set 6-2.

Gauff is here not to bask in her US Open glory, or to bathe in the nostalgia of that breakout win five years back against Williams.

Not only is she here to win, and determined to knock world No 1 Iga Swiatek off the WTA rankings summit, Gauff is motivated to right the wrongs of Wimbledon a year ago.

'Last year I lost first round,' she said after beating fellow American Caroline Dolehide.

'It was a tough moment for me. I'm a little emotional. It's been a long year, but it's incredible how I was able to turn it around.'

'Wimbledon is the place where I believed the dream was possible.'

Twenty-three unforced errors put paid to Todoni's day, her head bowed as she went off despite some impressive moments that got lost in the demolition job by Gauff. 

Her own time will come as experience at Slams builds up. Gauff may only be a year her senior but looked every bit the accomplished professional that has been on tour for a decade more.  

It was that dark place a year ago that Gauff was taken back to after sealing a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win. 

Embracing her 'veteran' - quote marks very much essential - status, she said: 'I think overall I just learned about life a lot which is what you do as you get older. 

'What I do I'm very passionate about but it's not ever that serious. The world can make you feel it's a lot of pressure but at the end of the day it's a game.'

Laid back Gauff looks to be one of the best versions of her that Wimbledon has seen. Shock factor may well have gone with her but she still knows how to put on a show. 

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2024-07-03T13:59:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd