It wasn’t easy, but Coco Gauff is moving on. The 21-year-old American star advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open after a gritty second-round win over Donna Vekić.

Gauff picked up the win in straight sets, 7(7)-6(5), 6-2. But the first set was nearly disastrous for the young American, as Gauff let Vekić get in her head.

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After an early 2-0 lead from Vekić, Gauff began to fight back, taking the next four games in a row. But then Vekić took some of Gauff’s steam. After Vekić broke Gauff on a 4-4 tie, Gauff sat on the bench with a towel over her face and appeared to break down in tears.

But then Gauff stuck it out, eventually forcing a tiebreak and defeating Vekić by a narrow margin.

In the second set, Gauff looked significantly stronger: making fewer errors, putting up more consistent serves, outplaying Vekić in nearly every category. Her 6-2 second set was a testament to Gauff’s power and grit as she picked up the win to advance.

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Though unseeded, Vekić is no slouch: The 29-year-old Croatian reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2024, and won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gauff, in comparison, is the No. 3 seed in the tournament, which she won just two years ago.

After the game, Gauff teared up again when thanking the fans in the audience for their support.

“Honestly, today was a tough match for me, but I’m just happy that I was able to manage,” Gauff said. “It’s been a rough couple weeks, but I’m just happy to be back on this court. You guys bring me so much joy.

“I’ve had some tough moments on this court and you guys pull me through each time,” she continued. “That first set was tough for me, but you guys kept cheering for me.”

Gauff said that she blacked out at the end of the first set, and couldn’t remember much. But between the sets, she took a break to reset; she went to the bathroom, where she “splashed some water on (her) face” and quickly felt better.

The difficult win was Gauff’s second in a row this tournament: Gauff defeated Australia’s Ajla Tomlijanović in three sets on Tuesday, overcoming some issues with her serve and a tough second set to pull off the 6-4, 6-7 (7-2), 7-5 win.

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Gauff is also dealing with a coaching change, firing a member of her coaching staff last week. In his place, Gauff hired Gavin MacMillan, a specialist who’s been credited with helping Aryna Sabalenka fix her serve.

Some of those struggles, both in the service game and on the mental side, were still present on Thursday. Gauff had eight double faults; seven of those were in the first set. She missed about 30% of her first serves overall, though that number improved in the second set (23%) as she regained her confidence.

In general, Gauff has had some struggles since winning her second Grand Slam title at the 2025 French Open in June. She had a stunning first-round loss at Wimbledon last month, before falling in the Round of 16 at the Canadian Open and in the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Open. The Cincinnati Open loss may have particularly stung: Gauff, who thrives on the hardcourt, won the event in 2023, right before her US Open win.

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She will now try to keep up that success in the next round. Gauff is set to play Poland’s Magdalena Fręch on Saturday as her third-round matchup.