WASHINGTON, DC, USA - Needing just 64 minutes to win her final qualifying match, Coco Gauff advanced to the Citi Open main draw.
The top seed in qualifying cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No.8 seed Hiroko Kuwata of Japan, sealing her spot as one of four qualifiers in the WTA International-level event in the U.S. capital.
"I'm happy that I was able to get into the main draw. These two matches, I feel like, will prep me for my first round, especially because I've never been to this tournament before, "Gauff said after the match.
"I was glad that I was able to get a feel of how it is, the site, playing those two qualifying matches. The weather is similar to home, so I felt like I've been practicing at home. I'll be happy playing on any court."
Read more: Gauff wins first match after Wimbledon: 'Everything was great'
After the two players exchanged service holds to begin the match, Gauff went on a tear, winning eight consecutive games to build a 6-1, 2-0 lead, and hardly faced adversity from there.
She needed three set points to wrap up the first set in a game in which she faced two break points, and also saved a break point when she served out the match.
Gauff will be joined in the main draw by compatriot Sachia Vickery and Russians Anna Kalinskaya, and teenager Varvara Gracheva.
In the main draw, qualifying spots were drawn against a quartet of unseeded players: Camila Giorgi, Zarina Diyas, Anna Blinkova and Nao Hibino, and Gauff will next face Diyas of Kazakhstan in the first round.
