LONDON – Coco Gauff likes court number 1 at Wimbledon.
It was where she defeated Venus Williams in 2019 when Gauff made her Wimbledon debut at age 15.
On Wednesday, Gauff beat qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the third round at the All England Club.
“This is the court where I started here at Wimbledon. Court 1 is always a special place for me to play,” said 20-year-old Gauff in his on-court interview.
The victory also allows second-placed Gauff to move one step closer to last year’s first-round elimination.
“Overall, I learned a lot about life,” the US Open champion said when asked about putting her three-set loss to Sofia Kenin behind her.
“I just realized that, yes, I’m very passionate about what I do, but it’s never that serious and sometimes the world can make you feel like there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation,” she said. “At the end of the (day), it’s a game. It’s sport.”
Todoni, 19, is Romanian and was making her Grand Slam debut.
“I think I could have played cleaner at times,” Gauff said.
Five years ago, Gauff beat Williams – a five-time Wimbledon champion – 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and eventually reached the round of 16, all on her Grand Slam debut.
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