CNN
—
Coco Gauff had what she called a “great day” on Thursday as she beat her fellow American Sofia Kenin without dropping a game at the Miami Open.
World No. 3 Gauff romped past Kenin with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline – colloquially known as a double bagel – to reach the third round of the tournament.
It was a dramatic return to form for Gauff who, after beginning 2025 with nine wins in a row, has gone 3-4 in her last seven matches as she struggles to find consistency.
After emphatically dispatching Kenin – Gauff has now won her last two matches against the 2020 Australian Open champion – the 21-year-old spoke about how she’s had to learn to have a “short-term memory when it comes to wins and losses.”
“I was definitely playing well today, and maybe she wasn’t playing her peak great tennis,” the Florida-native said after her second-round victory at the Miami Open. “I don’t think anyone who is playing their best tennis will have that scoreline today, so I’m not going to sit here and say she played her best tennis.
“I think it was a combination of me playing really well, it was really great tennis from me, and maybe her not playing as well.”
Gauff has never made it past the fourth round at the Miami Open and will face world No.
51 Maria Sakkari in the third round. It will be the second time in as many tournaments that Gauff as faced the Greek, having beaten her in straight sets at Indian Wells.
Elsewhere on Thursday at the Miami Open, there were emphatic wins for Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka and defending champion Danielle Collins who all safely booked their spots in the next round.
However, Thursday also saw the shock of the tournament so far as world No. 40 Ashlyn Krueger upset seventh seed Elena Rybakina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Krueger had to withstand a remarkable 22-point winning run from Rybakina on her serve in the first set but grew into the match to record the biggest win of her career so far.
It was the first victory over a top-10 ranked player for Krueger, who has been given the nickname “Baby Rybakina” by fans due to her similarities to the Kazakhstani player; they are both tall and are renowned for big hits and powerful serves.
When that nickname was put to Krueger after the match, the American laughed and said she was unaware of it but admitted she saw the similarities in the pair’s games.
“Big serves, big returns,” the 20-year-old said. “I knew there weren’t going to be a ton of long points. So a lot of serves, first balls – who was going to get on top of the point quicker.”
Krueger will now face Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the Miami Open.