NEW YORK: US teen sensation Coco Gauff prepared for her US Open third-round showdown with top-ranked defending champion Naomi Osaka by joining partner Caty McNally for a first-round doubles victory Friday.Gauff, a 15-year-old who reached the fourth round last month at Wimbledon in her Grand Slam debut, joined 17-year-old compatriot McNally to beat Germany´s Julia Goerges and Czech Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.Gauff, the youngest player in the US Open third round since Russia´s Anna Kournikova in 1996, said the doubles helped prepare her for the challenge of 21-year-old Japanese star Osaka, the reigning US and Australian Open champion."I think it helped me a lot to practice several serves," she said. "You have to hit a lot of different shots in doubles. I think it will come in handy tomorrow."Gauff and McNally won last year´s US Open junior girls doubles title and united for their first WTA doubles crown earlier this month at Washington."I dream of winning singles and doubles Grand Slam titles," Gauff said.She´s hoping to make a dream come true this week."We´ve had a good chemistry since the first match," said McNally, a second-round singles loser to Serena Williams. "The sky is the limit for us."Gauff says being teens helps their on-court bond."We´re both young and still learning," Gauff said. "We can relate to each other on and off the court and our communication is really good."A huge crowd watched the match on an outer court, Gauff having become a fan favorite quickly."Both of us were really feeding on the crowd," Gauff said.
from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/30MgZtN
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