Gauff split with Matt Daly and hired MacMillan<\/a> to help her iron out the issues with arguably the most important shot in tennis.<\/p>\n Coco Gauff<\/a> played Ajla Tomljanovic in her first match of the 2025 US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n The American took the lead by claiming the opening set, and she led the second set 4-2 and looked set to cruise to victory.<\/p>\n But Tomljanovic broke back and proceeded to win the set 7-5, and the third set was a titanic battle for victory. Gauff led 5-3 but was thwarted by the Australian once again, and the set was level at 5-5.<\/p>\n But the 21-year-old fed off the energy from the electric home crowd to break back and hold serve, as Gauff outlasted Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5.<\/p>\n Post-match the 2023 US Open winner admitted being unhappy with her performance, but she told ESPN that her team have encouraged her to be more positive about how she played.<\/p>\n \u201cI think when I won in 2023 at the US Open I felt \u2018okay I did enough for the year\u2019 and also it\u2019s easy to do that with the US Open because there are no slams after it,\u201d Gauff explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI told myself the next time I win a Slam I want to push myself to win another one in that year. I am not going to put the pressure on this. But I think to achieve the level of greatness that I want to achieve you can\u2019t be too satisfied.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to find the fine line of being proud but not satisfied and I think I am one of those people that sometimes is not as proud of myself as I should be.<\/p>\n \u201cToday I was very disappointed with my match but my team told me I should be more proud. But I think it\u2019s just trying to find that balance between not being satisfied but also not undermining your achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI think for me today I was thinking about that after my match, the year I won in 2023 I had a similar first round match so I am just trying to remind myself that the first round match is not indicative of the way the tournament is going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Gauff is through to the second round of the US Open but it was a win she had to work extremely hard for.<\/p>\n There is plenty of pressure and expectation on her shoulders, being the American number one and arguably the biggest star in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Gauff had plenty of sponsorship commitments leading up to the start of the tournament and a night match inside Arthur Ashe stadium always draws plenty of attention.<\/p>\n But after watching her performance and body language, members of Tennis Podcast think Gauff has taken on plenty, and they wonder how long she can keep playing long and physical matches in the tournament.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DN2vBST2IKS\/?igsh=OGNla3o3YnBpYXp4<\/p>\n Co-host David Law said: \u201cI just think her performances and her success and her career, she puts so much into it and she\u2019s at one of the biggest of the biggest tournaments in the world for her, maybe even the biggest.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s looking at her and she\u2019s come out here and she is tinkering in this manner with her game, and she obviously just hates the feeling, that\u2019s what it feels like when you listen to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Law\u2019s co-host Matt Roberts added: \u201cI was struck by what you said about her feeling exhausted mentally, because I had this feeling throughout this whole match, I can\u2019t believe this is only round one.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it already feels like she has done so much work both in the match and the buildup to the event. In terms of where this leaves Coco Gauff I don\u2019t know how any more times she can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n ![\"Coco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231564944-1024x645.jpg\")
Photo by Robert Prange\/Getty ImagesCoco Gauff\u2019s team said she should be \u2018proud\u2019 of how she played in the first round of the US Open<\/p>\n![\"Coco](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231564997-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU\/AFP via Getty ImagesTennis pundits wonder if Coco Gauff is \u2018mentally exhausted\u2019 at the US Open<\/p>\n