Madrid [Spain], April 25 : US tennis star Coco Gauff delivered a dominant performance at the ongoing Madrid Open 2026, brushing aside Leolia Jeanjean with a commanding display of return game strength on Friday.
Entering the tournament in the second round, Gauff had a slow start, dropping two of her first three service games. However, she quickly recovered by breaking Jeanjean four times in the opening set and went on a run of nine consecutive games to seal a straight-sets victory, 6-3, 6-0.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was particularly impressive on return, converting seven of 16 break points. She won 61.7 per cent of return points and 60.6 per cent of first-serve points, wrapping up the match in just 82 minutes.
With this win, Gauff advanced to the third round of the tournament, registering only the second meeting between the two players. She will next face Anastasia Potapova, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser after Madison Keys withdrew.
"She's not easy to play," Gauff told the assembled press after the match as quoted by Olympics.com. "She plays a different rhythm than most players, so just trying to get used to that.
"I had to hit a lot of jump backhands today, which I'm used to doing one or two a match, and having to do one every other ball was new for me."
Meanwhile, Potapova booked her place in the third round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Zhang Shuai, despite having limited preparation time.
In men's action, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner also moved into the third round after a tough opening-round battle against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. Despite early resistance and fatigue, Sinner fought back to win 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4, extending his Masters 1000 winning streak to 23 matches.
He will next take on Danish qualifier Elmer Moller in the third round.
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