U.S. Open: Coco Gauff's game has matured, and it shows in second-round win over Mirra Andreeva

Plenty has been said about Coco Gauff’s age, her confidence and her precocious game.

But on Wednesday as the 19-year-old defeated Mirra Andreeva — at 16, the youngest woman in this year’s U.S. Open — it seemed likely that Gauff’s youth wouldn’t necessarily be one of her defining characteristics this time around.

No, if things keep going like they have over the first two rounds, it’ll be her growth and maturity to potentially pave the way to Gauff’s first career Grand Slam title.

“I know I can win matches not playing my best game now,” Gauff said prior to the opening round — a grueling, dramatic, nearly three-hour ordeal against Laura Siegemund on Monday. “I feel like no matter the score line in the match, I can be able to problem solve and troubleshoot my way out.”

All that has been evident enough throughout a sterling August, which she capped with a win at the Western & Southern Open. You saw it Monday, when the 19-year-old, who self-describes as non-confrontational, nonetheless advocated for herself after Siegemund slowed down play, eventually earning the German a point violation. And it showed itself again Wednesday, when Gauff heaped praise on an Andreeva, saying of the Russian: “I really see her in myself.”

It helps, too, that while Gauff is confident that she can win without necessarily always playing her best, that was a non-issue in the second round. In a repeat of their clash at the French Open, Gauff, seeded sixth, defeated Andreeva, 6-3, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Gauff will take on No. 32 Elise Mertens, of Belgium, in the third round.

“I know she’s on a roll,” said Mertens, who defeated unseeded Danielle Collins, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1 om Wednesday after fending off two match points in the second set. “When I’m playing Coco, I need to be there from the first ball to the last one, but never giving up and trying to play more aggressive [and] on my terms…I’m going to give everything I have.”

Gauff, a fan favorite at the Open, has now won 13 of her last 14 matches, with all but two of those victories coming off straight sets. She was also able to stall Andreeva’s quick climb through professional tennis; the Russian was 293rd in the WTA rankings last year before ascending to 63 in 2023.

“These matches are tough,” Gauff said. “I think for me, [the] adjustment just happened a lot with age and also with [my] new team and just hearing new things . . . Playing a younger person just reminded me how far I have come, and I should be proud of myself. That process is necessary, and those losses are necessary for growth.”

Gauff won 15 of 18 net points, and in her on-court interview, said that her previous three-set match against Siegemund taught her to “be aggressive”. She also won 22 of 27 first-serve points.

“I learned a lot from that match,” Gauff said. “Also, it's two completely different opponents. The way Laura played made it very hard to be aggressive. She's hitting slices that are bouncing really low . . . Then today, I mean, honestly it was tough to be aggressive, too, on Mirra because she can rip some backhands down the line and everything. But I think I was just trying my best to get her to the corners and not letting her control the court.”

Gauff, in fact, has spoken repeatedly about her ability to adapt. Where some elite players believe that all they can do is be the best version of themselves, Gauff is a proponent of not just out-playing, but out-strategizing an opponent. She’s built a team around her that plays to that strength: retired Spanish pro Pere Riba, and, more recently, Brad Gilbert, who’s coached Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Andre Agassi.

“I think I have always done a good job of adapting to players and having a plan,” she said. “I do think having the team that I have, the plan is a little bit clearer.”

She continues, too, to learn what she can from whomever she can.

Gauff said she was touched on Monday when she received encouragement from former First Lady Michelle Obama, who was in attendance and advised her to keep advocating for herself, even when it’s difficult [this, Gauff said, was in relation to her confronting the chair umpire when Siegemund was taking too long].

Though she didn’t know it until after the match, she also had another supporter and inspiration there Wednesday in Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s six-time NBA All Star. (Gauff grew up in Florida and is a Heat fan.)

“He has that mentality really of, you know, no matter what the odds are against him, he's gonna give it his all,” she said. “That's part of the reason [for the] switch I had in the last couple weeks. I mean, people think some incredible thing happened. But realistically . . . between [a loss at] Wimbledon and the next tournament I played, nothing could have really changed that much. It was really just the mental thing.”

Some would call it a growth mindset. And for Gauff, it seems to be making all the difference.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.