In a first-round match that felt more like a quarterfinal, Sofia Kenin defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on the fresh Wimbledon grass. The two young Americans battled for just over two hours in the nail-biting encounter.

Despite having to play qualifiers to gain entry into the main draw, Kenin brought high energy from the get-go pelting penetrating groundstrokes in the direction of the 7-seed. Attacking Gauff’s forehand, she gained a foothold into the first set and held off her fellow American.

However, as to be expected, Gauff took her intensity to another level immediately in the second set. She served bigger and struck 18 winners and evened the match as the intensity grew.

(Photo: Twitter/TheTennisLetter)

But it was Kenin who would seize the final wave of momentum in the third set as Gauff could not find consistency with her forehand. The 24-year-old broke serve in the first game and added an insurance break later in the set to take the set and match.

The 2020 Australian Open champion and former top-five player had fallen due to injury and illness setbacks which plummeted her down the rankings. However, you could never tell based on her opening round play. She played with an edge and appeared to brim with confidence.

“This means a lot, I had to go through quallies and I battled out there and I just took this match as any other match,' she said. 'I knew Coco had a great season, great year, so I'm just super proud of myself.”

The American will look to continue to get through the Wimbledon draw but to do so, she will have to accomplish a task she has not yet done; get past the second round.