French Open: Coco Gauff overcomes stubborn Dayana Yastremska at Roland-Garros, says key to ‘not get too mad’

Coco Gauff was made to sweat at times by Dayana Yastremska in a nervy second set, but she got the job done to set up a fourth-round clash with Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It looked like it would be relative plain sailing for the American after wrapping up the first set in 34 minutes, but the Ukrainian showed a marked improvement and went down with a fight after a closer second set.

Coco Gauff

Image credit: Getty Images

Coco Gauff dug deep to secure her place in the French Open fourth round after a 6-2 6-4 victory over Dayana Yastremska.

The US Open champion was tested by a late revival from the Ukrainian, but Gauff ultimately kept her composure to book a meeting with Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the next round.

“I played her in Madrid, and she plays really well from behind, so I knew that closing the match would be difficult because she just hit some great shots,” Gauff said in her on-court interview.

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“I definitely could’ve closed it out on my serve; I got a little bit unlucky. In the last game, she hit three or four balls on the edge of the line, and so it was a little bit difficult mentally to stayed focused and not get too mad, but I’m glad I was able to push through.”

The 20-year-old explained how a more relaxed mental approach is coming to fruition, and is keen not to dwell too much on the past in her quest for a second Grand Slam title after success at the US Open last year.

“I would say going into Australia, I was more nervous after the first couple rounds, but now I'm just taking it one match at a time,” she added.

“It’s something that I accomplished [winning a Grand Slam], but I think it's important just to stay in the moment, and obviously want to expect great things from yourself, but not to put too much pressure, especially you know at 20.

'One match at a time' - Gauff trying not to feel pressure as she reaches fourth round

Video credit: TNT Sports

“I hope I'm still playing at least 10 years from now, so it's a long process.”

While the second set was a more keenly-contested affair, Gauff took the first with very little fuss, claiming an early break at 2-1 ahead as the unforced errors crept into the Ukrainian’s game.

A netted return enabled the American to break through her serve once again to take a 5-2 lead, and while Yastremska had an opportunity to break back, the world No.3 drew first blood after set point number one.

The 24-year-old fell a set and a break down at the start of the second set, but managed to immediately break in a game which yielded Gauff's first double fault of the match.

She followed that up with a hard-fought hold, and suddenly, the reigning US Open champion was given some cause for concern.

Following a comfortable hold for the American, Gauff was left serving for the match when she penetrated through Yastremska’s serve for a third time in the second set to take a 5-2 lead.

Robson and Corretja discuss Gauff's excellent serve and defensive play

Video credit: TNT Sports

The world No.32 showed admirable resistance in a topsy-turvy eighth game which saw one Gauff match point come and go, before reducing the deficit at 5-3 after her sixth break point.

Yastremska backed that up with a hold to 30 and made things just a little bit more interesting, and pulled through an arduous tenth game after swatting away three break point opportunities for the Ukrainian.

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