Former US Open champion Coco Gauff has stumbled into the second round of the tennis Grand Slam, squeezing past Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in an error-strewn three-hour battle.

Third seed Gauff punched her ticket to the second round on Tuesday, after overcoming a litany of self-inflicted errors to win 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-5 in a match that lasted 2hr 57min.

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“It was a tough match. Ajla was tough; she was getting so many balls back,” 2023 winner Gauff said after her win.

“It wasn’t the best but I’m happy to get through to the next round.”

Gauff, the reigning French Open champion, had prepared for the US Open by shaking up her coaching team on the eve of the tournament in an effort to fix her shaky service game, replacing coach Matt Daly with Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics specialist.

However , on the evidence of Tuesday night, the 21-year-old American still has plenty to work on if she is to have any realistic chance of mounting a deep run in New York.

Gauff finished with a whopping 59 unforced errors and 10 double faults, and her serve was broken six times. She heads to the second round knowing that a more ruthless opponent than Tomljanovic might have punished those mistakes.

As it was, Tomljanovic had her own problems, suffering eight breaks of serve and making 56 unforced errors before bowing out.

Gauff admitted that her unsettled build-up to the tournament had been draining.

“Honestly it’s been really tough, mentally exhausting,” Gauff said. “But I’m trying. It wasn’t the best today, but it was an improvement on last week [in Cincinnati]; I’m just trying to improve with each match.”

There were no such problems for the reigning Wimbledon champions Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, though, as they recorded emphatic victories.

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World number one Sinner began his bid for back-to-back US Open titles by waltzing to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over Czech world number 89 Vit Kopriva, needing just 1hr 38min to advance to the next round.

“It feels great to be back here. Obviously it’s a very special tournament,” said Sinner, who is attempting to become the first man to repeat as US Open champion since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004-2008.

Sinner, 24, faces Alexei Popyrin in the third round.

“I’m very happy that I’m healthy again,” said the Italian, who was forced to retire from last week’s Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner’s blistering start on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court was matched by Poland’s Swiatek, who was similarly emphatic in a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.

The 24-year-old from Poland was always in control against 84th-ranked Arango, overwhelming the Colombian with some powerful groundstrokes mixed with some deft work at the net.

The win makes Swiatek the first woman in history to win 65 consecutive WTA-level first round matches, surpassing Monica Seles’s previous record of 64.

The six-time Grand Slam singles champion – a winner in New York in 2022 – will face the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens in the second round.

Meanwhile , two-time former champion Naomi Osaka had no difficulty in dispatching Belgium’s Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4.

The Japanese former world number one revelled in returning to a venue that she regards as a home from home.

“Whenever I play here the atmosphere feels like home, and it is home for me,” said Osaka, who is seeded 23rd and will next face American Hailey Baptiste.

In other women’s draw results on Tuesday, Ukrainian 27th seed Marta Kostyuk took down Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-4. Eighth seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States ousted Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-2.

Brazil’s 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Britain’s Sonay Kartal. But there was disappointment for rising French star Lois Boisson. Boisson, who captivated her homeland with a run to the semifinals of the French Open in June, exited in three sets to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, losing 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

Elsewhere, 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti outlasted big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 6-4 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium and will face Belgian David Goffin.

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After Daniil Medvedev’s chaotic exit on Sunday, Marin Cilic became the latest former champion to be knocked out as 23rd seed Alexander Bublik beat the Croat 6-4 6-1 6-4 on Grandstand, while American 14th seed Tommy Paul made short work of Denmark’s Elmer Moller 6-3 6-3 6-1 to book a second-round clash with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

Third seed Alexander Zverev closed out the evening’s action on the main showcourt by beating Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 7-6(4) 6-4 to set up a meeting with Jacob Fearnley.