As Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva faced off at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, fans in the stands remarked about how old \u2014 really how young \u2014 they were while competing at the top of their sport.<\/p>\n
Gauff, who at 19 is not much older than the 16-year-old Andreeva, has for several years been a household name in tennis, ever since she made a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2019. Her growing stardom means that she often finds herself playing in featured matches at the U.S. Open, in front of the most fans in person and in choice television slots.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, that was in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Andreeva at Arthur Ashe Stadium, playing ahead of Novak Djokovic. It was a matchup, and a moment, that Gauff, a sixth-seeded American, controlled with ease while keeping a breezy but brisk pace.<\/p>\n
Some of her confidence, Gauff acknowledged, comes with experience. When asked on the court what she had learned in the past three years, Gauff said that when she was 16, she played every match as if it were \u201clife or death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still have to allow yourself time to make mistakes,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the losses, as long as you learn from them, are OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andreeva, an unseeded Russian, said after the match that she hadn\u2019t gotten much advice from older players on tour yet, but that she was eager for their wisdom: \u201cI will always listen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andreeva played in her first tour event this year and has shown some youthful struggles in maintaining her composure on the court. In her last match against Gauff, at the French Open in the round of 32, she hit a ball into the stands, striking a spectator. She received a code violation and acknowledged that she could have been disqualified, calling it a \u201creally stupid move.\u201d She was also fined $8,000 at Wimbledon for unsportsmanlike conduct after throwing a racket, arguing and refusing to shake hands with the chair umpire.<\/p>\n
Andreeva has defended herself by saying that Roger Federer had outbursts when he was young, too, echoing an argument that other players, like Serena Williams, have made about whether women\u2019s players and men\u2019s players receive similar scrutiny for their conduct.<\/p>\n
Gauff, who has often been complimented for her composure, said this week that she debated whether to complain during her opening-round match against Laura Siegemund about the pace of play, with Siegemund often pushing the serve clock to its limits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t like confrontation all that much,\u201d Gauff said in her postmatch media interview on Monday. She said she had been thinking about the delays the whole match. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure if I was in the right or not until it happened multiple times,\u201d she said, but she reached a point of frustration and felt the need to speak up to the chair umpire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try my best not to let my emotions to take over myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gauff pledged ahead of her second-round match not to be flustered by her opponent this time, and to ignore age \u2014 her own and Andreeva\u2019s. \u201cShe has her ranking, and that\u2019s all that matters,\u201d Gauff said ahead of their match.<\/p>\n
Instead, their youthfulness played out in the form of athleticism, as they traded long, sprinting rallies from the baseline and as Gauff found openings to inch forward and finish points.<\/p>\n
One rally in the second set lasted 30 shots, and ended with Gauff expertly handling a drop shot from Andreeva with a backhand approach shot for a winner. She celebrated that point by urging the crowd to cheer, a request fans quickly obliged.<\/p>\n
By then, it was clear that Gauff and Andreeva have had no trouble reaching young fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that they are so young and they have this amazing skill and talent to just be here and play on that court,\u201d said David Keating, 10, as his father applied sunscreen to him and his twin brother, Michael.<\/p>\n
Eve Maulshagen, who started playing tennis three years ago and just made her high school team in Central New Jersey, said in the main plaza at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that she liked the idea that someone at 16 could be playing in front of so many people on TV. \u201cThat\u2019ll be me in a year when I\u2019m 16 \u2014 but not like a pro,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Gauff has been trying to ignore age as a factor during her matches. On Friday, she will play Elise Mertens, a 27-year-old from Belgium, in the third round. They have played twice, and Gauff won both matches, most recently during the French Open in 2022 in the round of 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to maintain a long career,\u201d Gauff said during her on-court interview on Wednesday. \u201cI have to really have fun on the court and I think I\u2019m having fun with the wins and losses.\u201d<\/p>\n