Second seed Coco Gauff of the United States opened her title defense at the China Open with a commanding 6-4, 6-0 win over Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday.

The 21-year-old American, currently ranked world No. 3, pulled away after a tight first set to complete the victory in one hour and 42 minutes.

Gauff has experienced a season of highs and lows. On clay, she reached consecutive finals at the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome before capturing her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

But her momentum stalled in the summer, suffering a first-round exit at Wimbledon to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, and later fell to Naomi Osaka in the round of 16 at the US Open.

Earlier in the day, fellow American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, defeated Russia's Polina Kudermetova 6-4, 6-2 to progress.