French Open 2025: Coco Gauff's serve is not at its best but she gets the breaks for a win
The second-seeded Gauff, pursuing her first title at Roland-Garros, eliminated 172nd-ranked qualifier Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes on a partly cloudy, warm afternoon in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Amid a soundtrack of sirens from nearby streets and roars from nearby courts, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff only managed to produce 11 winners, five fewer than her far-less-experienced opponent. Gauff also finished with 23 unforced errors, a total that included a half-dozen double-faults.
Against Valentova, an 18-year-old who won the junior title at the French Open last year and was competing in the main draw at a major tournament for the first time, Gauff got broken five times. Four of those came in the second set — and each time, the 21-year-old Floridian managed to immediately rebound to claim Valentova's very next service game.
'There is a sense of urgency after getting broken, for sure. You don't want to get too far behind. You don't want to get two breaks down. You can live with one break. But she's definitely got to serve better and do a better job of holding as the tournament progresses,' said Gauff's father, Corey. 'She's probably been one of the best returners of serve on the tour the last two to three months. But that's not what you want. You want to hold first, for sure. It's not really a break until you hold.'
On Saturday, 2022 runner-up Gauff will try to reach the fourth round in Paris for the fifth consecutive appearance, facing another Czech player, Marie Bouzkova.
What else happened at the French Open on Thursday?
Other winners in the women's bracket included No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the 2019 final at Roland-Garros. Vondrousova, who is unseeded this year, eliminated No. 25 Magdalena Frech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 6 and then went out to sit in the stands at Lenglen to watch Gauff vs. Valentova. In men's play, No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended the career of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet by beating the Frenchman 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Arthur Fils won, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic was in late action against Corentin Moutet of France.
Who is on the schedule at Roland-Garros on Friday?
No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will begin third-round play at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Day 6 by facing Olga Danilovic, while the night match in the main stadium features defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against Damir Džumhur, who hurt his left knee during a fall in his second-round win. Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive championship by playing Jaqueline Cristian, 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko of Canada takes on Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe faces No. 23 Sebastian Korda in an all-American matchup.
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Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, Wimbledon concluded with two contrasting finals. Iga Świątek routed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in a record-breaking women's final, before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner delivered the latest chapter in the story of their rivalry at the top of the sport. Sinner avenged his agonizing French Open final defeat with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 Wimbledon win. Advertisement The Athletic's tennis team, Matthew Futterman, Charlie Eccleshare and James Hansen, present their takeaways from the third Grand Slam of 2025, from the best shots and funniest moments to the biggest disappointments and the most incredible matches. If you'd like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here. Charlie Eccleshare: Not necessarily the highest quality, but the Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova semifinal had the key ingredient of not knowing who was going to win until the moment it was over. A final was at stake. There were flashpoints, like the players disagreeing over a possible mid-point 'hindrance' from Anisimova, and her non-apology after a dead net cord. It had just the right amount of spice to go with the drama. Matthew Futterman: Another vote for Anisimova beating Sabalenka in the women's semis. So many shifts. So much surprise. A big upset with a ton on the line. And then the human drama news conference from Sabalenka. James Hansen: Rinky Hijikata and David Pel's comeback from two match points down to beat No. 1 seeds Marcelo Arévalo and Mate Pavić in the men's doubles semifinal. In singles, Emma Raducanu vs. Sabalenka under the lights on Centre Court. Eccleshare: An exchange that said everything about the special relationship. 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The 23-year-old Italian came into the tournament with no grass-court pedigree and isn't typically thought of as a massive server, but he found a groove and went all the way to the quarterfinals. Advertisement Once there, many feared a shellacking on what was his first appearance on Centre Court, up against his 'biggest idol' and seven-time champion Djokovic. But Cobolli won the first set and in the closing stages had the crowd chanting 'Flavio' as they desperately tried to will the match into a fifth. Previously thought of as a flashy shotmaker but one who wouldn't always make the smartest shot selections, Cobolli appears to be maturing and making the most of his gifts. Futterman: Gabriel Diallo of Canada, a second-round loser to Taylor Fritz in five sets. Watch out. Hansen: Solana Sierra's seizing of her lucky-loser spot and her ensuing run to the fourth round bodes well for her future. Eccleshare: 'I had practices where the ball was listening to me.' Świątek proved she can be as adept with words as she is with a racket in her hand. After beating Danielle Collins in the third round, she discussed how things had clicked for her on grass. The ball continued to listen to exactly what she said throughout the tournament. Futterman: 'They're definitely several levels above everyone right now.' Novak Djokovic on Sinner and Alcaraz. Hansen: Keys' delicate sideswipe at tennis highlights: 'It seems like you're only watching highlights of the other person, and you're like: 'I swear I was up 5-1, so a little confused as to how that happened.'' Eccleshare: Fritz not only returning Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's 153-mile-per-hour body serve (a Wimbledon record), but doing so with enough precision that he actually won the point, was pretty mindblowing. Fritz, who isn't a fan of the body serve, said he would use this as evidence whenever his coaches suggest that he uses the shot more. Futterman: Yes. 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LONDON -- Jannik Sinner needed this victory. He wanted to win Wimbledon, of course, and it would have meant a lot to him no matter who the opponent was in the final. That this championship, his fourth at a Grand Slam tournament, came via a win over Carlos Alcaraz made it all the more significant to Sinner — and to the future of their burgeoning rivalry, the best men's tennis has to offer these days and, perhaps, for many years to come. 'It is important, for sure,' the No. 1-ranked Sinner said Sunday night after prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against No. 2 Alcaraz, 'because when you lose several times against someone, it's not easy.' Sinner had lost five matches in a row against Alcaraz, none more disheartening than the one they played last month in the French Open final. Sinner grabbed a two-set lead in that one, then held a trio of championship points, before losing in five sets after 5 hours, 29 minutes. 'I keep looking up to Carlos, because even today, I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did,' Sinner said. 'So that's something ... we will work on and prepare ourselves, because he's going to come for us again.' Perhaps as soon as at the U.S. Open, which starts in New York on Aug. 24 and where Sinner is the defending champion. They will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 again, so could only meet there in another final. Alcaraz won the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2022, beginning a stretch in which he and Sinner have combined to win nine of the past 12 majors. That includes the last seven, leaving zero doubt that these two young guys — Sinner is 23, Alcaraz is 22 — have pushed themselves way past everyone else in the game at the moment. 'I'm just really, really happy about having this rivalry with him. It's great for us, and it is great for tennis. Every time we play against each other, our level is really high,' Alcaraz said. 'We don't (see) a level like this, if I'm honest with you. I don't see any (other players) playing against each other (and) having the level that we are playing when we face each other.' Both serve well, although Sinner was better at that Sunday. Both return well, although, again, Sinner was superior over these particular three hours. Both cover the court exceedingly well — Alcaraz is faster; Sinner has a bigger reach and is a better slider. Both hit the ball so, so hard — Alcaraz is more prone to the spectacular; Sinner is as pure and consistent a ball-striker as there is. And so on. One other contrast, usually, is that Alcaraz shows emotion, whether via yells of 'Vamos!' or the sort of point-to-his-ear-then-pump-his-fist celebration he did after winning Sunday's opening set by stretching and reaching low for a cross-court backhand to close a 12-stroke point. Sinner is far more contained. Even his arm-raised victory poses are mild-mannered. Sunday, though, there were more visible displays. He even shouted 'Let's go!' after one point. Later, he shook his racket overhead while the crowd roared after a well-struck backhand. When he took a set with a forehand winner, Sinner held a pose, then lifted a fist. When the match was over, he crouched, lowered his head and pounded his right palm on the grass five times. 'You saw a bit more energy from him in the big moments," said one of Sinner's coaches, Darren Cahill, "and a bit more focus to knuckle down and make sure that, when he had his nose in front, that he kept on closing the door against Carlos.' Both players spoke about their matchup motivating them to work hard to try to improve. 'It gives me the opportunity to just give my 100% every practice, every day. Just to be better, thanks to that,' said Alcaraz, who won the past two Wimbledon titles and was 5-0 in Grand Slam finals before Sunday. 'The level that I have to maintain, and I have to raise, if I want to beat Jannik is really high.' Sinner described Alcaraz as 'someone who is young, who wins basically everything.' ___
