The last time Coco Gauff faced Donna Vekic with both players representing their respective nations, it was the Croat who scored an upset victory on her way to winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in August.
But on Tuesday in Perth, there was no such surprise: Gauff was a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 winner over Vekic to clinch the Americans’ second victory in as many round-robin ties at the season-opening United Cup. After quickly establishing a 4-1 lead to start the match, Gauff cooled off any hopes Vekic had for a comeback under the heat of the midday sun inside RAC Arena by winning eight of the last 11 games. The American emphatically rounded into form on serve in the second set, dropping just four points behind her delivery in all.
“I’m really happy with how I played today,” Gauff said post-match. “She’s a great player, and the Olympics loss hurt, so I definitely was thinking about it today as motivation to do better.
“The game I got broken, she played a great game. I have no regrets off that game … but I’m really happy with how I served today and how I competed throughout the whole match.”
But the 1-hour and 29-minute victory was window dressing for Team USA as far as its immediate future prospects in the competition was concerned, as Taylor Fritz’s earlier 6-3, 6-2 win over Borna Coric already ensured that the 2023 United Cup champions qualified for the quarterfinals as Group A winners, where they will face China.
Gauff and Fritz made it a clean sweep for the Americans by defeating Petra Marcinko and Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-3 in mixed doubles.