Coco Gauff survived a first-round scare at the French Open after the American came from a set down to beat world No. 71 Rebeka Masarova.
Gauff, who was a finalist here last year, made a string of unforced errors in a disappointing first set and voiced her frustration with groans of anger.
But the 19-year-old rallied to beat her Spanish opponent 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in just under two hours on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Sporting some specialized ‘Twisted Net’ New Balance trainers, Gauff won from a set down for the first time since Wimbledon last year against Elena Ruse.
She dealt well with the powerful and aggressive game of Masarova, the 23-year-old who took just two games from Gauff in a 6-1, 6-1 defeat in the final of the WTA Auckland event in January.
Breaking from her usual mild-mannered straight face on court, Gauff seemed very fired up in the third set and did not apologize for smashing a ball towards Masarova, a powerful shot which made the Spaniard scream.
Gauff continued to roar in celebration at won points and saw out a pleasing win.
Her reward for moving past Masarova is a second round matchup vs. Austria’s Julia Grabher Thursday.
It continued a good afternoon at Roland Garros for Americans. Tommy Paul beat Swiss Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
JJ Wolf, though, fell in five sets to Yoshihito Nishioka despite taking a two-set lead.
