MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff maintained her perfect start to the 2025 season, advancing to the third round of the Australian Open by defeating Jodie Burrage, a British player ranked 173rd, with a score of 6-3, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

Gauff, who clinched the U.S. Open title in 2023 and was a semifinalist at this same event last year, faced some turbulence in the second set. She grappled with double faults and lost four consecutive games, slipping from a 3-1 lead to a 5-3 deficit.

However, when Burrage served for the second set, Gauff regained her composure, stringing together four games to clinch the match.

“It was tough. She was serving really well, so I was just trying to manage that, honestly,” Gauff remarked, the No. 3 seed of the tournament. “She really stepped her level up in the middle of the second set, so I was just trying to be offensive when I could.”

Despite hitting six of her seven double faults during the second set, Gauff overall displayed consistent baseline play, ending the 1.5-hour match with only 11 unforced errors from groundstrokes, compared to Burrage’s 37. Burrage’s last two service games were marred by double faults, including two consecutive ones that led to a crucial 6-5 situation.

Gauff concluded the match strong as she continues to work on refining her serve and forehand, areas of focus since the latter part of the previous season.

“She was returning well, so it put pressure on me on my serve,” Gauff explained. “If I landed anything short, she was landing a winner.”

This victory adds to Gauff’s impressive streak, following four consecutive wins at the WTA Finals in November, where she achieved straight-set victories over top-ranked players like Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Overall, her current winning streak has reached 11 matches.

Gauff’s next opponent will be Leylah Fernandez, the No. 30 seed, who was the runner-up to Emma Raducanu at the 2021 U.S. Open. Fernandez secured her spot by defeating Cristina Bucsa 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 earlier on Wednesday.