Coco Gauff begins her US Open title defense with an easy win after a two-match losing streak

AP Tennis Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff’s U.S. Open title defense is off to a successful start. The 20-year-old American beat Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 in just 66 minutes on Monday. Gauff had lost two matches in a row on hard courts before arriving in New York, where she won last year’s championship for her first Grand Slam trophy. Other winners on Day 1 included No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, No. 14 Madison Keys, No. 4 Alexander Zverev, No. 6 Andrey Rublev, No. 8 Casper Ruud and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. Shelton beat 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, who is retiring after the season.