On Thursday, Coco Gauff looked the part of the No. 2 seed at Wimbledon, easily defeating Sonay Kartal in her third-round match 6-4, 6-0. With the win, Gauff advances to the fourth round of the tournament for the third time after losing to Sofia Kenin in the first round last year.
Britain’s Kartal had the All England Club crowd on her side, which may have cheered her on in the first set as she came back from 4-2 down to a 4-4 tie. But that didn’t deter Gauff, who took the next eight games in a match that lasted just over an hour.
Gauff later acknowledged that fans weren’t as against her as she had hoped.
“This is my first time playing against a British player here, so I was a bit nervous.” Gauff said“I knew they would be on my side. Luckily, you guys were really nice to me, so that helped. Playing in front of the British crowd is great. They’re respectful, so I appreciate that.”
Kartal reached the third round match on An impressive career as a qualifier (and ranked No. 298 in the world), defeating No. 29 seed Sorana Cirstea and Clara Burel before facing Gauff.
“She played at a high level in the first set. It was a great tournament for her,” Gauff added. “She wasn’t giving me much to work with and she knows how to mix up the different pieces so you never get comfortable. I was off balance, but I was able to do well in the end.”
Gauff’s next match will be against compatriot and 19th seed Emma Navarro in the fourth round.