American women have started the 2024 Paris Olympic Games a perfect 7-0 in singles play so far, with reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff leading the way for Team USA.
No.2 seed Gauff of the United States remained undefeated in her Olympics debut with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle on Monday.
Gauff moved into the singles Round of 16 with her 1-hour and 25-minute win over 85th-ranked Carle on Court Suzanne Lenglen at Roland Garros. Team USA’s flagbearer Gauff is still active in all three disciplines this week: women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
This was the first professional meeting between Gauff and Carle, but they had faced off twice before during their successful junior careers. Gauff won both of those matches, in the 2017 Junior US Open semifinals and the Round of 16 at 2018 Junior Wimbledon.
World No.2 Gauff maintained initial command in their rivalry on her way to a 5-0 lead on Monday. Carle did make the American work to close out the one-set lead, holding three break points at 5-1 before Gauff finally converted her fourth set point.
Flawless Coco 👌
Coco Gauff defeats Maria Lourdes Carle 6-1 6-1 to reach the third round of the #Olympics#Paris2024 | #tennis pic.twitter.com/D4q0qkBsmy
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 29, 2024
At 5-1 in the second set, Gauff slammed a backhand crosscourt winner to earn her first match point, which she converted when Carle found the net with a forehand error. Gauff converted six of her eight break points on Monday, while only dropping serve once.
In the Round of 16, Gauff will have her first career meeting with No.13 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia. Vekic, who made the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career earlier this month at Wimbledon, defeated 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada 6-3, 6-4 on Monday.
No.8 seed Danielle Collins and No.11 seed Emma Navarro each needed to go three sets on Monday, but they both joined their fellow American Gauff in the Round of 16.
Ninth-ranked Collins defeated former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 12 minutes. Collins fought back from an early break down in the final set to collect the win.
Making her Olympic debut in her final year on tour, Collins won just over half the points returning Wozniacki’s first serve on Monday, denying the 2018 Australian Open champion a chance for her first Olympic medal. Collins will now take on Colombia’s Camila Osorio for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Navarro battled back from a set down to hold off Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 in nearly two-and-a-half hours on Monday. Navarro converted half of her 16 break points on the day.
Currently ranked a career-high No.15, Navarro will have a Round-of-16 clash with Zheng Qinwen of China, the No.6 seed and 2024 Australian Open finalist. Navarro is 2-6 against Top 10 players so far this year.
More to come…