LONDON — Coco Gauff likes No. 1 Court at Wimbledon.

It’s where she beat Venus Williams back in 2019 when Gauff made her Wimbledon debut at age 15.

On Wednesday, Gauff beat qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the third round at the All England Club.

“This is the court where I first started here at Wimbledon. Court 1 is always a special place for me to play on,” the 20-year-old Gauff said in her on-court interview.

The victory also allows Gauff, the No. 2 seed, to move another step away from last year’s first-round exit.

“Overall, I just learned about life a lot,” the U.S. Open champion said when asked about putting that three-set loss to Sofia Kenin behind her.

“I just realized that, yes, what I do I’m very passionate about, but it’s not ever that serious and sometimes the world can make you feel like there’s so much pressure, there’s so much expectation,” she said. “At the end of the (day), it’s a game. It’s sport.”

The 19-year-old Todoni is from Romania and was making her Grand Slam debut.

“I do think I could have played cleaner at some moments,” Gauff said.

Five years ago, Gauff beat Williams – a five-time Wimbledon champion – 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and eventually reached the last 16, all in her Grand Slam debut.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz trailed 6-5 in the first set Wednesday before coming back to beat Aleksander Vukic 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2, setting up a third-round meeting with No. 29 Frances Tiafoe after the American eliminated Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3.

When told by the on-court interviewer that Tiafoe said he’s “coming after you,” the 21-year-old Spaniard replied with a smile: “I’m going for him.”

“We played a really good match in the U.S. Open,” the No. 3 seed said of their 2022 semifinal that Alcaraz won at Flushing Meadows.

In other results, No. 1 Jannik Sinner got past 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (4) at Centre Court in an all-Italian contest.

“I knew that I had to raise my level today,” Sinner said. “He is a grass-court specialist. … I’m very happy how I handled the situation.”

No. 11 Danielle Collins completed her first-round match – a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Clara Tauson. It had been suspended Tuesday night at 4-4 in the second set.

No. 20 Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced to the third round by beating Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3.

NAVARRO OUSTS OSAKA

To be sure, Emma Navarro used clean tennis to defeat Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon on Wednesday: just five unforced errors compared to 16 winners; zero break points faced; a 4-for-4 success rate at the net.

What else helped Navarro reach the third round at the All England Club for the first time by eliminating Osaka – a four-time major champion and former No. 1 – 6-4, 6-1 in under an hour at Centre Court? Little reminders the 23-year-old American types into her cellphone’s notes app before each match.

“That’s an atmosphere that could easily overwhelm me, or overwhelm any player, and I spent just a good amount of time preparing myself mentally for the emotions and the nerves I was going to feel. Then once I got out there, I just felt really at home,” said Navarro, who won the 2021 NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia and is seeded 19th at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

“In the notes, I told myself to make the court my home and never be afraid to stay out there for as long as it takes,” Navarro said. “I was able to do that today and it’s pretty cool to come out on the other end of an experience when you’re not sure how it’s going to go.”

Turned out she didn’t need to worry.

Osaka has never been at her best on grass or clay – all of her Grand Slam trophies came on hard courts at the U.S. Open and Australian Open – and her victory Monday was her first at Wimbledon since 2018. She last played at the tournament in 2019.

“Even though in the beginning, it was kind of like we were trading games, I don’t know why, (but) I didn’t feel fully confident in myself. I didn’t feel like I was playing that well,” said Osaka, who returned to the tour in January after taking 15 months off and becoming a mother. “I guess those doubts started trickling in a lot (and) into my game.”

MURRAY, RADUCANU TEAM UP

Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will team up in mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the tournament announced Wednesday, a pairing of the two biggest stars of British tennis.

The 37-year-old Murray owns three Grand Slam titles, including from the All England Club in 2013 and 2016. The 21-year-old Raducanu won the 2021 U.S. Open at age 18 and became the first qualifier to claim a major trophy.

Murray withdrew from singles at Wimbledon on Tuesday, a little more than a week after having surgery to remove a cyst from his spine. He is also entered in men’s doubles with his older brother, Jamie.

Murray has said this will be his final appearance at the tournament. He is planning to retire after the Paris Olympics, which start later this month.

The All England Club awarded a wild-card entry to Murray and Raducanu in mixed doubles on Wednesday. The Murray brothers were given a wild card for men’s doubles last week.