Coco Gauff's serving struggles at the US Open give way to stronger play in a second-round win

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff overcame some uneven serving early in the second round of the U.S. Open before stretching her winning streak to nine matches at the site of her first Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over 99th-ranked Tatjana Maria on Wednesday night.

“I can serve better,” Gauff said. “That first set would have been a lot easier.”

Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida, had all sorts of trouble at the outset under the lights at a hot and muggy Arthur Ashe Stadium against Maria, a 37-year-old from Germany who made it to the Wimbledon semifinals two years ago and hits slices on nearly every forehand and backhand.

“At first, last week, I felt more pressure,” Gauff said about coming back to Flushing Meadows as the defending champion, speaking during an on-court interview conducted by 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios. “But now, stepping on the court, I really have nothing to lose … and I have the potential to do more, whether it happens this year or in the future.”

There were seven double-faults for Gauff in the initial set. She put in fewer than half of her first serves. She faced five break points, but saved four. And problems arose in other aspects of her play, too, including winning the point on just 9 of 17 trips to the net, and a total of twice as many unforced errors, 20, as winners, 10.

Her body language was frequently negative as can be after some of the mistakes. Gauff would look at her guest box and put her palms up as if to say, “What is going on?” She would roll her eyes or put a hand on a hip, including after one wild swinging volley that sailed several feet long.

When Gauff served for the opening set, she double-faulted twice and faced a pair of break points that would have allowed Maria to get the score to 5-all. But Maria missed a forehand on the first, and Gauff struck a cross-court forehand passing shot on the second, then finished off the game.

The second set was a completely different story.

Gauff put together 15 winners to merely five unforced errors — two of which were double-faults — and went 10 for 11 at the net.

“I should have done that more in the first,” the No. 3-seeded Gauff said about her success when moving forward.

On Friday, she'll take on 27th-seeded Elina Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist who was a 6-1, 6-2 winner against Anhelina Kalinina, for a berth in the fourth round.

Gauff arrived in New York off a series of early exits elsewhere. That included two consecutive losses at hard-court tuneup events this month, which followed eliminations in the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round of the Paris Olympics, both in July.

“It's been a tough few weeks,” Gauff said.

Perhaps. But the coming days could be a lot better if she plays more like she did in the second set Wednesday than in the first.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Coco Gauff, right, of the United States, shakes hands with Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States reacts againstTatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts against Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States reacts againstTatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, returns a shot to Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, waves as she walks onto the court before a second round match against Tatjana Maria, of Germany, of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts against Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Tatjana Maria, of Germany, returns a shot to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts against Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts against Tatjana Maria, of Germany, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK (AP) — Marcus Stroman will be moved into the bullpen by the New York Yankees next week as they attempt to hold off Baltimore in a close race for the AL East crown.

New York has a day off Monday before beginning a six-game trip to Seattle and Oakland, so the Yankees will return to a five-man rotation. Nestor Cortes will be scheduled to start next time through instead of Stroman.

“He’ll be available for us out of the ‘pen probably Sunday and we’ll keep evaluating moving forward,” manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s 5-4 victory against Boston.

"I’ll try to put him in the best position, make sure we communicate well with him. He and I spoke yesterday about it. Nothing’s necessarily permanent, but with the off day coming I wanted to have us go five at least this time and maybe the next time around, too. We’ll see.”

It was Cortes who was the odd man out last week, when New York used five starters around an off day Sept. 5. The left-hander wasn't happy about the decision, but he pitched 4 1/3 hitless innings last Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in his first relief appearance since 2021. He earned the win in a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field.

Without an off day off this week, Stroman and Cortes both pitched on turn as the Yankees went with six starters.

Stroman allowed three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Cortes struck out nine over five innings in a no-decision Thursday against the Red Sox, permitting one run and three hits with three walks on 92 pitches.

Stroman is 10-8 with a 4.07 ERA in 28 starts during his first season with the Yankees. He has lost back-to-back outings after going 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in his previous four.

“He’s one of the reasons we’re here," Boone said. “He’s gone to the post for us, taken all of his starts, won a lot of ballgames for us. I think one of the reasons we have a chance to get to the postseason is some of the consistency of our starting pitching, and on balance he’s done a really good job for us.”

The right-hander made two relief appearances for the Cubs last September, pitching on consecutive days after returning from a right hip injury. Besides that, the other six relief outings of his major league career all came during his first season in 2014 with Toronto.

“Stro’s been so good for us and so good in the room,” Boone said. “He’s all team in there and all about the guys in there. Basically his message to me is, whatever you need and I’ll be ready to go.”

Cortes is 9-10 with a 3.90 ERA in 29 starts and one relief appearance this year. He has given up 24 home runs, eight more than previous career high.

Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt recently returned from the injured list, giving the Yankees six healthy starters. New York has the best record in the American League at 86-62, three games ahead of the Orioles in the AL East.

“It’s just really about, we’re at that point of the year — difficult decisions to make,” Boone said. "And part of the reason they’re difficult decisions is because we have a lot of really good options that have made those difficult decisions. That’s where we’re at right now.”

New York has another day off Sept. 23 before hosting Baltimore and Pittsburgh to conclude the regular season, but Boone didn't commit to a rotation plan for the final week.

“I would say it’s kind of fluid,” he said.

AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees closing pitcher Nestor Cortes, right, celebrates with catcher Austin Wells, left, after defeating the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in a baseball game in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman looks up before the start of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)