The 2024 edition of Wimbledon has already produced an abundance of exciting moments and unexpected results. Just one day after defending champion Marketa Vondrousova was ousted in the first round, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka also had to start packing her bags.
Osaka, who is in the midst of a comeback after taking several breaks from tennis, was eliminated by No. 19 seed Emma Navarro. The former world’s No. 1 suffered a 6-4, 6-1 loss and lasted just 58 minutes against the American.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff overcame last year’s first-round exit with a dominant win over debutant Anca Todoni. Gauff easily handled Todoni and wrapped up the match in two sets (6-2, 6-1).
Gauff got the win at Court 1, which has a special meaning for her. It was there that Gauff made her Wimbledon debut at 15 and beat legendary Venus Williams.
“This is the court where I first started here at Wimbledon. Court 1 is always a special place for me to play on,” said Gauff in an interview after the match.
In her debut at Wimbledon five years ago, Gauff managed to reach the fourth round. She advanced to the same stage in 2021 and can do it again this year as she is facing qualifier Sonay Kartal, who is world No. 195, in the third round.
