Coco Gauff got off to an easy start in defending her US Open title, winning 6-2, 6-0 over Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva.

Gauff took just over an hour, looking more like the player who won her first major title last year than the one who lost her last two matches before traveling to New York.

She was eliminated early in the preparatory tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto and the first signs of trouble appeared when she made five double faults in the first set.

The 20-year-old had to fend off three break points in the second game to hold her serve, but from then on the world number 3 found her stride and was able to break her opponent’s serve in the third and seventh games.

Gauff plowed through the second set in 27 minutes and raised her level across the board, making just five unforced errors and finishing the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium with ten aces.

“I just tried to enjoy the game,” said Gauff, who will face German Tatjana Maria in the next round.

“I think that was the best tennis I’ve played in a long time.

“This tournament has definitely been a lot of pressure, but I’m just enjoying it… Whatever happens, happens.”

Zheng Qinwen, the women’s Olympic gold medalist, stayed in the tournament by rallying to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Amanda Anisimova.

Zheng began the Grand Slam season by reaching the final of the Australian Open, but she faced a tough task at the final major of the year: Anisimova, an American who reached the final of a hard-court warm-up tournament in Montreal earlier this month and returned to the top 50 of the WTA rankings.

But the No. 7 seed nullified Anisimova’s dominance and the match went into the second round. After becoming China’s first singles gold medalist at the Paris Games, she turned her attention back to the Grand Slam tournaments.

“…To get to the next tournament, I say everything starts from scratch,” Zheng said.

“You’re not the Olympic champion anymore. Just be humble and try to work and fight in every single fight. Because if you don’t fight, there’s a big chance you’ll lose.”

Maria Sakkari, the No. 9 seed from Greece, was the first seed to be eliminated when she retired after losing the first set to China’s Yafan Wang. Sakkari, who also lost in the first round last year, received treatment on her shoulder in the first set.

Elsewhere, there were opening victories for Americans Maddison Keys, seeded 14th, as well as Taylor Townsend and Peyton Stearns.

With AAP and Reuters.