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, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the second round by No. 19 Emma Navarro, 6-4, 6-1. Navarro used clean tennis to claim the victory: just five unforced errors compared to 16 winners; zero break points faced; a 4-for-4 success rate at the net.

No. 11 Danielle Collins completed her first-round match — a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Clara Tauson. No. 20 Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced by beating Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3.

On the men’s side, No. 16 Ugo Humbert eliminated Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9), 6-1, 6-3.

Young British players boost local hopes: The mini-Union Jack flags were flying high as Emma Raducanu closed out a dominant victory on the grass courts of Wimbledon.

“You’re going all the way Emma!” was the assessment of one fan who broke the silence at No. 1 Court while Raducanu awaited an interview moments after her 6-1, 6-2 second-round victory over Elise Mertens on Wednesday.

British players not named Andy Murray have struggled to make a lasting impact at the All England Club in recent years, but there are flickers of hope these days.

All sorts of local treats are on tap for Thursday, when there’s an important matchup outside the grounds, too, in Britain’s national election. In all-British second-round encounters, Katie Boulter will play Harriet Dart before Jack Draper faces Cameron Norrie.

And first up on Centre Court will be Jacob Fearnley, a 22-year-old wild-card entry from Scotland, squaring off with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.

Speaking of Scotland, Murray will also be on Centre Court when he plays doubles with his brother, Jamie, ahead of a mixed-doubles pairing with Raducanu later in the tournament. The two-time Wimbledon champion pulled out of the singles competition.

“There’s a good vibe around British tennis at the moment,” said Anne Keothavong, a former British player who is now the captain of her country’s team in the Billie Jean King Cup.