Coco Gauff breezes into Wimbledon third round, eases past Anca Todoni | Tennis.com

"Coco Gauff Smoothly Advances At Wimbledon"

The second seeded player won on the No. 1 Court in a little over an hour on Wednesday, beating the up-and-coming Romanian qualifier in two sets.

Coco Gauff made history on Wednesday by reaching the third round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Anca Todoni with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

Competing under the roof of the No. 1 Court, the second-seeded player showcased her impressive form by only dropping six games in her first two matches at the prestigious All England Club. She defeated the Romanian qualifier in a quick 66-minute match.

One year after a devastating defeat in the first round, which ended up being a turning point leading to her first major win at the US Open, Gauff faced off against her friend Caroline Dolehide in the first round. She quickly overcame her nerves and focused on defeating Todoni, a young player making her debut in a Grand Slam tournament.

A 19-year-old tennis player from Romania started 2023 ranked below 800, but has quickly risen in the rankings over the past year and a half. She is now on the verge of breaking into the Top 100. After making her way through the qualifying rounds, Todoni won her first Grand Slam match by defeating lucky loser Olga Danilovic. She will now face the in-form Gauff in the next round.

Starting off the match strong, Gauff managed to get through two difficult games while trying to solidify her advantage. She saved two break points as Todoni tried to tie up the first set in the fourth game.

After she found her footing, things became easier for the second-ranked player in the world. She won five out of six games to take a lead of one set and a break. Even when she didn't hit perfectly, her shots were still effective: a mishit forehand return miraculously made its way over the No. 1 Court roof and stayed in play. Despite her efforts, Todoni could only score one game to make it 1-2, before losing the remaining four games of the match as Gauff dominated for a nearly flawless victory.

Overall, Gauff hit 13 successful shots and made 16 mistakes, only losing three points on her first serve and successfully converting five out of nine chances to break her opponent's serve. On the other hand, Todoni was not able to take advantage of the two opportunities to break Gauff's serve in the first set and made a total of 23 unforced errors.

To reach the next round, Gauff will face either Clara Burel from France or Sonay Kartal from Britain. Kartal delighted the local fans with her victory against Sorana Cirstea in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament.