American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff has paired up with the US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez at the on-going BNP Paribas Open 2021. The pairing is one of the most exciting team-ups of the year in women’s doubles tennis,

Neither of the players had made their partnership official. So, when the two players hit the court together ahead of their first-round matchup against Irina-Camelia Begu and Renata Voracova, fans flocked to the practice court to see these two youngsters hit a few shots.

Coco Gauff teams up with Leylah Fernandez to play doubles at Indian Wells 2021

Coming to Gauff-Fernandez’s first-round matchup, the duo got to a racy start as they broke Begu-Voracova in the initial phase of the first set. With the accurate serve of Coco Gauff and the incredible baseline defense from Fernandez, they became too tough for the opponents to break through.

Not just the offense, both the teenagers were adept at defense too as they managed to save a couple of break points on their serve in the first set. In no time, Gauff and Fernandez took the first set, 6-1.

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Both Begu and Voracova couldn’t do much to stop two teenage prodigies and hoped for an opening early in the second set.

The story of the second set, however, was similar to the first, as it was Fernandez and Gauff who got an early break. The serving became increasingly accurate from the two teenagers as they won a mammoth 81% of points on the first serve.

Gauff-Fernandez ease past Begu-Voracova in the first-round of BNP Paribas Open

On the other hand, Begu-Voracova only maintained a below-par win percentage of 48 on the first serve. After losing an early break, they were unable to mount any pressure on Gauff-Fernandez. Instead, they focused more on holding their serves as the return game of their opponents went to the next level.

Both Gauff and Fernandez clinched another break point in the second set and raced to a lead of 5-1. Serving to win the match, the young duo didn’t waste time as they registered their first-ever team victory by defeating Begu-Voracova 6-1, 6-1.

The stunning aggressive play by the two youngsters will further encourage more fans to catch their action live at the BNP Paribas Open. They’ll come up against Demi Schuurs and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in the Round of 16.

Also read: “A Bit Overwhelming”: Coco Gauff Gives Practical Off-Court Advice to Emma Raducanu Ahead of Indian Wells 2021