During her Wimbledon debut in 2019 at the age of 15, she
achieved a significant victory over Venus Williams.
On Wednesday, Gauff defeated qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1
to progress to the third round at the All England Club.
“This is the court where I first started here at Wimbledon.
Court 1 is always a special place for me to play on,” the 20-year-old Gauff
said in her on-court interview.
The triumph also enables Gauff, the second-seeded player, to
further distance herself from her first-round elimination last year.
“Overall, I just learned about life a lot,” the U.S. Open
champion said when asked about putting that three-set loss to Sofia Kenin
behind her.
“I just realized that, yes, what I do I’m very passionate
about, but it’s not ever that serious and sometimes the world can make you feel
like there’s so much pressure, there’s so much expectation,” she said. “At the
end of the (day), it’s a game. It’s sport.”
The 19-year-old Todoni, a Romanian national, made her Grand
Slam debut.
“I do think I could have played cleaner at some moments,”
Gauff said.
Five years ago, Gauff defeated Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, with a score of 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and subsequently advanced to the round of 16, all during her Grand Slam debut.