‘I can raise my level if I need to’: Coco Gauff opens US Open title bid with straight sets win

Coco Gauff of the United States returns to Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey during the first round of the US Open tennis championships Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Coco Gauff opened her US Open campaign with a straight sets win, but her opening match was far from smooth sailing. The fourth-seeded American defeated Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4 and had to deal with some impressive moments from her opponent.Gauff even applauded some of Sonmez’s best shots, including a running forehand down the line and a cleverly spun volley that barely cleared the net.“I know I can raise my level if I need to, and I like to challenge my opponent to keep them level throughout the match,” Gauff said. “And if they do, I clap my hands and walk off the field with my head held high.Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, now advances to the second round where she will face either Paula Bados or Daria Kasatkina.Gauff’s preparation for this year’s tournament was much more encouraging than last year. She won the title in Cincinnati after reaching the semifinals in Wimbledon and Toronto, giving her plenty of momentum heading into New York.Last year, serving problems forced Gauff to make big changes just before the US Open. She eventually reached the fourth round before losing to Naomi Osaka.Her 2023 Cincinnati title also proved a sign of things to come as she won her first US Open crown, defeating Arya Sabalenkova in the final.

Dramatic returns and rain interruptions

Tuesday also brought two big returns. Maria Sakkari recovered from a 6-2, 4-0 deficit to beat Robin Montgomery 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, while fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli fought back from two sets down to beat Francisco Comesano after more than four hours.“I kept telling myself that anything is possible and I’m just going to try to get myself in a good position mentally and try to be a bit more positive, try to make more balls, get into the game,” Sakkari said. “Because I mean, everybody’s very good at tennis these days, but the girl in particular that I played today doesn’t have the experience that I have. So I thought, let’s try to hang on, let’s try to make more balls and it worked out.”Cobolli summed up the Grand Slam mentality simply: “It’s never done in Grand Slams. You have to fight until the last point,” he said.Rain caused repeated delays and restricted play mainly to two stadiums with retractable roofs, before other matches were moved to the center.