Coco Gauff Stalled as Opponent Donna Vekic Calls For Medical Help at US Open

Going into this year’s US Open, one of the main talking points was Coco Gauff’s serve. The honest truth is that the No. 3 seed was really struggling with double faults. In the first round of the Montreal Open against Danielle Collins, Gauff managed to win, yet had raked up 23 double faults. This eventually led to her downfall with early round exits in Montreal and Cincinatti. Despite the skepticism surrounding her form, Gauff entered the US Open with renewed hope and vigor barely days after seeking help from biomechanics coach, Gavin MacMillan. Ajla Tomljanovic.

Things were looking up for Gauff as she clawed her way out of the challenge against the formidable Ajla Tomljanović, despite having committed 10 double faults. The learning curve seemed to be upward and onward, until now, that is. Her R2 game against Croatian, Donna Vekic, has been sloppy for starters. After a turbulent start, which, despite Gauff’s ability to pull through in clutch moments, led to a tiebreaker in the very first set despite being 2 games away. Old habits die hard.

But for Gauff, the crowd and lady luck were on her side. Gauff regained momentum at the start of the second set while Vekic seemed to be visibly struggling. If her own serving woes and unforced errors weren’t a dead giveaway, her medical timeout was. Vekic’s right arm injury lugged at her performance, to the point that she had to stop and ask for help. But no amount of help was enough to guarantee a victory for Vekic in the second set.

This is a developing story…

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