Tennis-Gauff crushes qualifier Todoni to reach Wimbledon third round

By Clare Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) -Coco Gauff did not look at her imperious best under the roof on Wimbledon's Court One on Wednesday but she was always in control of an error-strewn second-round 6-2 6-1 victory over Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni.

The U.S. Open champion slipped and fell twice on the slick court and muttered to herself during the one hour six minute match against an opponent ranked 140 places below her.

"I do think I could have played cleaner at some points but overall I'm happy to have got through to the third round," Gauff said in an interview on court.

Second seed Gauff, a crowd favourite at Wimbledon after announcing her arrival on the big stage with a fourth-round run as a 15-year-old five years ago, produced 16 unforced errors in the short match and managed to land only 43% of her first serves.

But her nervous opponent, at 19 six months Gauff's junior, hit 23 unforced errors and could not find her range against the fleet-footed American, who wrapped up the match with a drop shot that Todoni could only send wide.

Gauff, who suffered a humiliating first-round exit last year at the hands of compatriot Sofia Kenin, said she had learned from that disappointment and from her triumph at the U.S. Open to manage expectations and emotions.

"Overall, I just learned about life a lot. What I do, I'm very passionate about but it's not ever that serious," she said.

"It's a game, it's sport. Sometimes the world can make you feel like there is so much pressure and expectation."

The draw has opened up for Gauff after the first-day withdrawals of Belarusians Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

She will next play British qualifier Sonay Kartel or France's Clara Burel.

(Reporting by Clare Lovell, editing by Ed Osmond)