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MELBOURNE, Australia — Third-seeded Coco Gauff had some familiar struggles on serve but still had enough class and power to defeat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3 on Monday in a first-round match at the Australian Open.

Gauff has won two Grand Slam titles but has never gone past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. She was knocked out in the quarterfinals last year.

The American has struggled with double-faults and had 431 in 2025 on the WTA Tour, by far the most of any player. No one else had more than 300.