Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz advance to Wimbledon. Naomi Osaka loses

The win moves Gauff, the second-seeded player, one step closer to where he was last year, when he was knocked out in the first round.

“Overall, I learned a lot about life,” the US Open champion said when asked how she managed to put the three-set loss to Sofia Kenin behind her.

“I just realized that yes, I am very passionate about what I do, but it’s never 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 a sport.”

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

“I think there were times I could have played cleaner,” Gauff said.

Five years ago, Gauff defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the first round to reach the last 16, all in her Grand Slam debut.

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

When the on-field interviewer told him that Tiafoe had said he was “after you”, the 21-year-old Spaniard replied with a smile: “I’m after him.”

“We played a really good match at the US Open,” the third-seeded player said of their 2022 semi-final, which Alcaraz won at Flushing Meadows.

In other results, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was knocked out in the second round by No. 19 Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-1, while No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated 2021 No. 2 Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (4) on Centre Court in an all-Italian match.

“I knew I had to raise my level today,” Sinner said. “He’s a specialist on grass. … I’m very happy with how I handled the situation.”

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

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

AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis