Gauff advances to second round despite double faults

Third-seeded Coco Gauff had some familiar struggles on serve but had still enough class and power to defeat Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3 on Monday in a first-round match at the Australian Open.

Gauff has won two Grand Slam titles but has never gone past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. She was knocked out in the quarterfinals last year.

The American has struggled with double faults and had 431 in 2025 on the WTA Tour, by far the most of any player. No one else had more than 300. Gauff had six in the first set in the victory over Rakhimova, but only one in the second set.

The 21-year-old Gauff has been reworking her serve for the last several months and practiced some more during a comfort break in the match at Rod Laver Arena with Rakhimova.

Gauff faces left-handed Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the second round. Danilovic defeated 45-year-old Venus Williams on Sunday in a first-round match, which erased the possibility of the two Americans facing off.

"There's not many (left-handed players) on Tour, but Olga's a great player. She's beaten some top players so it's going to be a tough match,"Gauff said.

Amanda Anisimova began her quest for a third consecutive Grand Slam final with a ruthless straight-sets win on Monday.

The fourth seed from the United States overpowered Simona Waltert of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2 in an hour at Margaret Court Arena.

"It's really good to be back here, I feel like Australia is my second home," said Anisimova, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2025.

"I love how rowdy it gets," she added of the Melbourne Park atmosphere.

Anisimova broke the 86th-ranked Waltert, who was making her debut in the main draw in Melbourne, early in both sets to gain a stranglehold in a one-sided contest.

She sealed an emphatic victory with an ace.

Anisimova roared to the fore in women's tennis last year.

She reached her first major final at Wimbledon — only to be thrashed 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek — then made it back-to-back Grand Slam deciders by repeating the feat at the US Open.

She was again defeated in the final but pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka hard in a 6-3, 7-6 (3) defeat.

Turning up the heat

Daniil Medvedev was looking forward to plunging into an ice bath on Monday after the former world No 1 overcame the Melbourne heat and serving issues to beat Jesper de Jong 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the first round.

The 11th-seeded Russian, fresh off a title won in Brisbane, came out on top after a topsy-turvy opening set that featured five breaks of serve as both players struggled with their delivery at Margaret Court Arena.

"The conditions felt slow, so we were both breaking each other's serves a lot," said Medvedev, who has finished runner-up three times at Melbourne Park.

"It is warm, but I felt okay and I think then he was probably struggling a tiny bit more than me... Hopefully it doesn't get worse than what we felt here. For sure, a bit of an ice bath never feels bad after such a warm match."

Despite moments of resistance from De Jong of the Netherlands, Medvedev turned up the aggression at key points which saw him surge ahead while the Russian toyed with his opponent at the net as he cruised into a 2-0 lead in the match.

"When I play good I am actually aggressive and when I play bad ... I become a bit more defensive," Medvedev said.

"He was also far behind the baseline. Many times I managed to move him around and even finish at the net. Some moments I could have maybe been a bit more clinical.

"The first round is never easy, so hopefully I can be more clinical in the next rounds."

In an early result on the men's side, No 7 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada retired in his match with Nuno Borges of Portugal. Borges led 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 after just over two hours when the 25-year-old walked to the net to shake hands.

"I'm OK, but I just started cramping at the start of the third set," the Canadian said. "Yeah, it became very difficult to be competitive at this level. I tried for a set, but yeah, it wasn't possible today.

"I can't recall ever in my life (cramping) this early in a tournament, this early in a match."

Not just the numbers

World No 6 Alex de Minaur said Monday he was not at the Australian Open just "to make up the numbers" as the home hope continues his quest to finally go deep at a Grand Slam.

The Australian is at a career-high ranking, but is rankled by his failure to go beyond the last eight at a major.

He made a solid start to his latest bid in Melbourne with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round.

"I'm not just making up the numbers now," he said after setting up a second-round clash with Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic.

"It's about me taking that next step and believing in my abilities, and that's going to be the only thing that's going to allow me to ultimately take that next step."

De Minaur must overcome huge home pressure to do so, with intense focus on how he fares and his relationship with fiancee and fellow player Katie Boulter of Britain.

Despite the expectations De Minaur, 26, said he was learning to not be so tough on himself and appreciate what he had already achieved.

"I don't really reward myself too much or too often," he said.

"You go through the whole process and you kind of forget where you came from and how pumped that little kid who was seven, eight years old and dreaming of getting into the top-10 would be with the position that I am right now.

"So over the years, I have tried to do my best to take a step back every now and again, give myself a pat on the back, and enjoy the moment."

Agencies