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Reuters

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Reuters

She is all of 1, but that hasn’t stopped Coco Gauff from bagging the bragging rights for the fastest serve in the women’s draw during Round-1 fixtures at the French Open.

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The American teen sensation sent down a thunderbolt, which was recorded at 119.3 miles per hour on the speed gun, during her opening-round win over Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia.

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The serve, which comes to almost 200 kmph, was officially deemed the fastest after all the opening-round matches were done.

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Coco Gauff sent down a screamer at 119.3mph during her 1st-round win at French Open

Gauff stinger missile, which would rival the average first serve speeds of most top players in the men’s draw, including big servers like John Isner and Reilly Opelka, shows not only the punch she packs with her serves but also the confidence she has taken into Roland-Garros after lifting her maiden Tour title on clay.

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The 17-year-old became the second youngest American woman after Serena Williams to break into the Top-30 in singles after claiming her first title on clay and second of her career at WTA Parma.

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She later paired up with good friend Caty McNally to clinch the doubles crown as well, making it a memorable week in the Italian city.

Coming into the French Open ranked 25th in singles, left no one in doubt about her title aspirations as she beat the Serbian in straight sets to open her campaign on a rousing note.

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Gauff was tested by Aleksander Krunic in her opening match

Though she was tested in the opening set, which went to tiebreak, Gauff held her nerve to win it 13-11 before running with the second 6-4.

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The eventual score line read 7-6 (13-11), 6-4 in favor of the American.

In what is a repeat of the WTA Parma final, the World No.25 will take on Wang Qiang of China for a place in the third round at Roland-Garros on Thursday.

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USA Today via Reuters

The American had made relatively short work of the Chinese, blitzing her in straight sets to lift the Parma title.

Read More: “I Wasn’t Expecting a Yes”: Coco Gauff Reveals How Teaming Up With Venus Williams Happened at French Open 2021

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Among Gauff’s peers on the women’s Tour, Belarussian World No.4 Aryna Sabalenka also has a heavy serve which she used to telling effect in her win over Ashleigh Barty in the Madrid final this year.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury

1,101 Articles

Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing. From covering live matches to writing features or reports on all that’s happening in the world of tennis, he is mining his interest in the sport to strive for writing excellence. When he is not busy writing about tennis, he likes to read, watch his favorite shows and films on Netflix or other streaming platforms, or catch Roger Federer in action.

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