Coco Gauff reacts to Indian Wells Open victory over Moyuka Uchijima

Coco Gauff said she was happy with her first win at Indian Wells, calling it a “positive” after a difficult match where she struggled with her serve.

The World No 3 and third seed, Gauff, was pushed hard by world No 52 Moyuka Uchijima on Saturday. Gauff eventually won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Even though Gauff’s first serve percentage was a decent 65%, she made 21 double faults and only hit four aces. She also made 74 unforced errors, compared to 37 winners.

This win was important for Gauff, who had lost her opening matches in Doha and Dubai, and was knocked out of the Australian Open in the quarter-finals.

She hasn’t been playing at the high level that saw her win the China Open and WTA Finals in late 2024, or help the USA win the United Cup in January. However, after three losses, the 20-year-old said it felt good to get back to winning.

“I think if I had double-faulted less, it could have been a straight-set match,” Gauff said. “On the ground, I felt like I was in control of the rallies.”

She added, “After a tough few losses, I’m seeing this win as a positive, maybe more than I would if I’d had better results in my last few tournaments.”

“I had to take more risks towards the end of the match because I felt like she was in control. I just had to take my chances. With the double faults, I’ve been working on my serve, but it’s been up and down. It’s tough out there. But if I can win while playing badly, it gives me confidence that I can fix things and play better.”

Gauff’s next match will be against 29th seed Maria Sakkari, who beat Gauff in the Indian Wells semi-finals last year. Gauff will be the favourite going into the match, but she will need to play better to win.

The 2023 US Open champion admitted her current form had been “frustrating” but said she was trying not to focus too much on her performance.