Gauff displays fighting spirit in second-round win; Anisimova defeats Joint

Survive and advance.

That’s exactly what Coco Gauff did Thursday night, defeating Donna Vekic, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the US Open second round at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match lasted 1 hour and 39 minutes and ended with the American star delighting the New York crowd.

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It came on a night when the former US Open champion had to dig deep to find her best tennis, especially during a tense opening set that left her visibly shaken.

“I was just trying to tell myself to breathe,” Gauff said after the match. “I don’t remember a lot of the end of the first set, to be honest, but it’s kind of amazing that I was able to get out of that one. But once I was able to reset, I went to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. After that I felt a lot better out here.”

Despite committing seven double faults and being broken four times in the first set, Gauff broke Vekic twice while the Croatian was serving for the set, forcing a tiebreak.

After her seventh double fault -- which came on the opening point of the tiebreak -- Gauff steadied herself just enough to secure the set, moments after wiping away tears following another dropped service game.

The shift in her demeanor was evident when she returned to the court after the break. After struggling with her serve throughout the first set, she cut down on the double faults and wasn’t broken once in the second.

Moments after clinching victory, Gauff shed a few more tears, thanked the crowd for its support and revealed a surprising secondary source of inspiration behind her second-set resilience: Simone Biles.

“I saw her, and honestly, I don’t know if she’s still up there, but she helped me pull it out,” Gauff said. “I was just thinking, if she can go on a six-inch beam and do that with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball in this 75. … I don’t know how big this court is. 

“But I saw her late in the second getting interviewed by ESPN, and it brought me a little bit of calm just knowing her story with all the things she went through mentally. She’s an inspiration, surely, and her presence definitely did help me today.”

With the victory, Gauff earned her 73rd Grand Slam match-win. Since 2000, only Maria Sharapova (85) has recorded more women’s singles Grand Slam victories before turning 22.

She’ll have a chance to capture win No. 74 in the third round when she faces off against Magdalena Frech, whom she has defeated in both of their previous meetings without dropping a set.

After trailing early, Anisimova rallies for straight-sets victory

Amanda Anisimova reached the third round of the US Open for the first time in five years Thursday night, defeating Maya Joint 7-6 (2), 6-2 in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

The crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium witnessed a thriller of an opening set, with Joint earning an early break against the reigning Wimbledon finalist. But Anisimova broke back as Joint served for the set, then cruised through the tiebreak and dominated the second set, breaking Joint's serve twice more.

Anisimova finished with 23 winners compared to just five for Joint.

Next up for Anisimova is Romania's Jaqueline Cristian, who is making just her second career appearance in a Grand Slam third round. It will be the first meeting between the two.