Coco Gauff Defeats Taylor Townsend After Car Crash

Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff began her title defense with a straight-sets victory on Tuesday, but not before navigating a chaotic morning that included a minor car accident on her way to the Roland Garros grounds.

The world No. 4 revealed the incident after defeating fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-0 in her first-round match. Gauff said the vehicle she was traveling in collided with a stationary pole after a miscommunication with police directing traffic. While no one was injured, the impact was significant enough to render the car undrivable.

“You felt a little impact. I spilled my juice all over the car,” Gauff said in a post-match interview, laughing about the situation. “I was like, ‘We can keep going.’ Then I walked out of the car, and the car was not drivable.”

The 22-year-old and her team took a taxi to a nearby location before using a tournament shuttle to complete the journey to the stadium. Gauff characterized the unexpected event as a potential good omen, suggesting it distracted her from pre-match nerves. “It was an eventful day,” she said. “But I feel like whenever that happens, it lets you not think about the match too much. I’m just happy to be...