Coco Gauff has gotten her revenge on Donna Vekic after routing the Croatian tennis star 6-4 6-2 and later admitted that she was extra motivated to win their United Cup match.
Half a year ago, the American suffered one of her most heartbreaking losses when she was beaten by the world No. 18 in the Paris Olympics round-of-16.
But on Tuesday – in their first meeting since the Olympics – the world No. 3 took care of the business and didn’t allow another upset to happen.
Since Taylor Fritz also defeated Borna Coric, the United States won the tie versus Croatia.
After finishing Group A in Sydney with a 2-0 record, the American team progressed into the quarterfinal stage at the United Cup.
How Gauff overcame Vekic and what she said afterward?
The American started off with two early breaks to open a comfortable 4-1 lead.
Coco Gauff© United Cup/X – Fair Use
In the fifth game, the Croatian managed to get one break back but she didn’t have enough to completely get back into set as the 20-year-old served out for the opener in the 10th game.
After sealing the opener, Gauff also took Vekic’s serve in the first and fifth games and went up by a double break before putting the curtain on the match in the eighth game.
Following her win, the 2023 US Open winner didn’t hide that she was thrilled with how she performed against the Paris Olympics silver medalist this time.
“I’m really happy with how I played today, She’s a great player, and the Olympics loss hurt, so I definitely was thinking about it today as motivation to do better,” the American said.
“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.”
Before beating Vekic, Gauff also ousted Leylah Fernandez in her United Cup opener.
Tennis World USA