Coco Gauff does something for the first time since 2021 after beating Dayana Yastremska at the Madrid Open

Coco Gauff won her opening match of the 2025 Madrid Open but it was far from straightforward.

The American has struggled for form since her Australian Open quarter-final exit and once again she could not find her best tennis in the Spanish capital.

But as the 21-year-old has done so often in the past, she can find a way to grind out a result and that is exactly what she did against Dayana Yastremska.

After two hours and 22 minutes Coco Gauff completed a comeback victory and in the process secured her 15th match win of 2025.

What did Coco Gauff achieve for the first time since 2021 at the Madrid Open?

After a disappointing Stuttgart Open campaign, Gauff commenced her outdoor clay court season at the Madrid Open.

She took on Yastremska, who played for the third time in her career and for the second successive year in Madrid.

A year ago Gauff lost five games on the way to victory, but in 2025, she lost the first set without losing a game.

But Gauff rallied to take set two and the deciding set took more than an hour, as Yastremska saved three match points before Gauff claimed a decisive break for 6-5 and served out the match.

In a match where both players lost their serve in half their total service games, Gauff claimed a 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 win. This is just the second time in Gauff’s career that she has won a match after losing the first set 0-6.

This came at the 2021 Eastbourne International, when the World number four rallied to beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

Who will Coco Gauff play next?

Gauff kept her Madrid Open campaign alive and she will face her compatriot Ann Li.

The 24-year-old has built some momentum after winning her opening two matches at the WTA 1000 event.

Li began her campaign by defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich, before recording an upset win over Leylah Fernandez.

Gauff and Li have played on two previous occasions, with the 2023 US Open winner prevailing on both occasions.

Their last match came in 2022 however, and both players have come a long way since then and this has the makings of a compelling matchup.