On a sun-soaked Thursday afternoon, March 20, 2025, the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami bore witness to a tennis spectacle that left the crowd buzzing and the record books trembling. Coco Gauff, the third-seeded American dynamo and former U.S. Open champion, unleashed a relentless storm on the court, demolishing fellow Grand Slam winner Sofia Kenin with a jaw-dropping 6-0, 6-0 victory in her Miami Open opener. The match, clocking in at a mere 47 minutes, wasn’t just a win—it was a double bagel, a rare and ruthless display of dominance that underscored Gauff’s hunger for her first Miami title and sent a thunderous message to the WTA Tour.
From the first serve, Gauff was a force of nature. She wielded her racket like a precision instrument, winning an astonishing 84% of her first-serve points and fending off the single break point Kenin managed to muster. Her stat line was a portrait of perfection: six of nine break points converted, only three points dropped total—two from double faults, one from a groundstroke gone awry. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, stood no chance as Gauff’s baseline barrage and pinpoint accuracy left her scrambling, unable to find even a foothold in the match. It was a performance so commanding that it felt less like a contest and more like a clinic, a masterclass in how to dismantle an opponent with surgical efficiency.
Gauff herself offered a grounded take on the rout afterward. “I was definitely playing well today, and maybe she wasn’t playing her peak great tennis,” she said, her voice calm yet confident as she addressed the press. She refused to bask solely in her own brilliance, adding, “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.” It was a gracious nod to Kenin, a fellow Floridian and former top-10 player whose career has been a rollercoaster of triumphs and struggles since her Melbourne glory. Yet, beneath Gauff’s humility lay a steely resolve—she’d come to Miami with a point to prove after a disappointing exit in the round of 16 at Indian Wells, and this was her emphatic rebound.
The match carried a personal twist for Gauff, who admitted to a flicker of empathy amid her onslaught. As the second set neared its end and the double bagel loomed, she found herself hoping—almost willing—Kenin to snag a game. “I did not want to win 6-0, 6-0,” she confessed with a wry smile. “At 5-0 in the second set, I was hoping to lose a game—not the set, just a game—so it wouldn’t be that scoreline.” It’s a rare peek into the mind of a competitor who balances ferocity with sportsmanship, a 21-year-old phenom who’s as human as she is formidable. But Kenin couldn’t capitalize, and Gauff’s precision sealed the shutout, her second career double bagel after a similar thrashing in Madrid last year.
This Miami triumph sets the stage for a tantalizing next chapter. Gauff now faces Ashlyn Krueger, the young American who stunned seventh seed Elena Rybakina earlier in the day with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 upset—her first top-10 scalp. Krueger’s victory adds spice to the matchup, pitting Gauff’s seasoned brilliance against a rising star’s newfound confidence. For Gauff, a Delray Beach native, the Miami Open is more than a tournament—it’s a homecoming, a chance to claim a crown she’s chased since her WTA debut here at 15. “I’m trying to do better,” she’s said of her 2025 season, a year that’s seen highs like leading Team USA to United Cup glory and lows like early exits in the Middle East. This performance suggests she’s hitting her stride at the perfect moment.
The broader Miami Open landscape amplifies the stakes. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1, cruised past Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-0, her power undimmed after an Indian Wells final loss. Other seeds like Jasmine Paolini and Qinwen Zheng also advanced, while Rybakina’s shock exit opened the draw’s underbelly. Gauff’s path could lead to a semifinal clash with Sabalenka, a blockbuster showdown fans are already salivating over. For now, though, the spotlight belongs to Gauff, whose ruthless display against Kenin—a Grand Slam champ no less—reaffirms her place among the elite. As the tournament unfolds, one thing is clear: in Miami, Coco Gauff isn’t just playing—she’s staking her claim, one devastating shot at a time.
Leave a Reply