MELBOURNE: US Open champion Coco Gauff eased through to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, beating fellow American Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.

The fourth seed raced into a 4-1 lead on Margaret Court Arena before being reeled back by her unseeded opponent.

However, Gauff was relatively untroubled in the tie-break, winning it 7-2.

The second set went with serve until the fifth game, when Gauff broke. She repeated the feat and survived multiple break points on her serve to clinch the match.

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“I wasn’t nervous today, I was just trying to play good tennis,” said Gauff, 19.

“If you give her something short, she’s going to punish you for it. So I think if I could go back, I would try to play more deeper, more heavy like I did in the second (set).”

She will play another American, Alycia Parks, in the third round.