Incredible stats underline Coco Gauff’s dominance in Madrid
Coco Gauff delivered the most emphatic opening performance in Madrid she could as she did not drop a game on her way to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.
Gauff needed just 51 minutes to put the Dutchwoman away with her opponent struggling to get on the board at all.
Rus would manage just 18 points across the 12 games of the match as Gauff showed what a force she can be on clay.
Gauff becomes just the third player to win a match 6-0, 6-0 at the Madrid Open as she followed in the footsteps of Victoria Azarenka, who beat Vera Dushevina by such a score in 2011, and Simona Halep, who handed a double bagel to Viktoria Hruncakova in 2019.
The 20-year-old is also the third WTA Tour player to win a double bagel match in any tour-level main-draw match in 2024.
Aryna Sabalenka dished one out against Lesia Tsurenko in the third round of the Australian Open, and Renata Zarazua defeated wildcard Mariana Isabel Higuita Barraza in the opening round in Bogota without dropping a game.
Rus might have registered a few points but she did manage to set up four break points in the second game of the second set but Gauff saved them all and that would be the only time that Rus threatened her serve.
Gauff only let one break point slip in what proved to be a highly clinical display in her 2024 Madrid bow.
Rus may have landed 72% of her first serves in the match, but she couldn’t keep the 2023 US Open champion under pressure as the world No 3 won 75% of the points played in Rus’ service games.
Gauff hit 14 winners to 10 unforced errors across the short match while her opponent offers up 15 errors and put away just two winners.
After the match the US fan favourite joked that she wanted to clear the show court for Rafael Nadal as soon as possible.
“I know everyone’s here to see Rafa so I was just trying to get off the court for you guys!” Gauff said after the match.
She was soaking up the sun in Madrid even if the weather has been temperate in the Spanish Capital this week.
“I’m happy to be back here in Madrid,” Gauff said.
“I like the conditions here. It feels good to be outside; my last tournament was indoors, so it’s good to be back in the sun even though it’s a little bit cooler than normal.”
