Americans Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins advance through Roland Garros openers

A pair of American Top 10 players stormed through a rainy Monday in Paris as Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins each claimed straight-sets victories to kick off their respective Roland Garros campaigns.

Gauff, the No. 3 seed and 2022 runner-up, breezed past qualifier Julia Avdeeva, 6-1, 6-3 in 53 minutes while Collins, who has announced that 2024 will be her final season on tour, defeated countrywoman Caroline Dolehide, 6-3, 6-4.

“Today was kind of a straightforward match,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference. “I didn't have to do much. I wouldn't say I, like, played amazing. I just had to play solid today. That's what I did.”

The 20-year-old has struggled with her serve for much of the clay-court season, regularly racking up double-digit double faults at both the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but struck only four against Avdeeva, evening it out with three aces and the loss of just one point behind her first serve.

The 20-year-old has struggled with her serve for much of the clay-court season, regularly racking up double-digit double faults at both the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but struck only four against Avdeeva, evening it out with three aces and the loss of just one point behind her first serve.

“I tend to go down on my left side on my serve, which causes a lot of double faults,” Gauff explained in press. “So, I think just trying to keep that left side up and just adjusting how I toss the ball, those are the two main things.

“You know, I think my serve is always, you know, decent and could be a weapon when it's on, but it's about making it more consistent. I think match by match it's getting better, and I'm pretty confident now with it.”

Gauff, who enjoyed a breakthrough summer surge after hiring coach Brad Gilbert, captured her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, and is looking to reach a third straight major semifinal after reaching the final four at the Australian Open back in January. Standing between her and a spot in the third round is dangerous qualifier Tamara Zidansek, who made the semifinals in Paris back in 2021.

“She's definitely a fighter,” said Gauff, who conceded she hasn’t watched too many of her matches. “I think she has, you know, good ball tolerance, like, she can make a lot of balls in the court, pretty good mover. So, it's going to be a tough match, especially on clay, which I think is her preferred surface, I'm not sure.”

Meanwhile, the No. 11-seeded Collins booked a Mutua Madrid Open rematch with Olga Danilovic, who pushed her to a third-set tiebreaker at the Caja Magica last month.

“I think one of the biggest factors this week compared to that week is the altitude in Madrid. It's not drastic, but it does make a difference, and it does make a difference for many of the players,” Collins said to preview her next match. “We all talk about that. We make adjustments within our game, with our rackets, with our stringing. So very different conditions, different court speed. Yeah, I think it will be a totally different matchup this week.

“But, obviously, she's been playing some really great tennis and doing some great things out there and definitely pushed me and challenged me in the last match that we played. So, I'm definitely going to have to sit down, do my homework, and prepare for it at a high level because she knows how to play some really high-level tennis.”

At 30 years old, Collins has been on fire since winning the Miami Open in March, backing that up with a second straight title at the Credit One Charleston Open and reaching the semifinals in Rome.

Last week she finished runner-up at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, losing to childhood friend Madison Keys but rejoining the Top 10 for the first time since July 2022.

“I feel like there's been a lot of conversation around, ‘Oh, you announced your retirement, so perhaps you're playing more free.’ I don't really know what that means as a 30-year-old woman who has a lot of freedom in her life. I really am confused by that. But I feel like I've always had a good amount of confidence on the court.

“I feel like I've provided pretty boring conversation in the sense of like, you know, it's a lot of hard work and figuring things out and figuring out how to make little adjustments on your shots and improve little by little technically and tactically. I feel like I just keep putting people to sleep with that, but really I think a lot of the success over the last couple of weeks and months is a product of things clicking because I have made those improvements.”

Against Dolehide, she struck 27 winners to 19 unforced errors and broke serve three times to edge over the finish line in 85 minutes.

Collins’ best result at Roland Garros is a quarterfinal run from 2020, where she scored back-to-back victories over former champion Garbiñe Muguruza and then-No. 30 seed Ons Jabeur but lost to eventual finalist Sofia Kenin.