NEW YORK — Coco Gauff was not aware that she’d lost five consecutive matches against opponents ranked in the top 50. She was not sure exactly how many points in a row she’d dropped — 11, it turns out — to give away the first set against Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Open’s third round on Friday.
Here, then, is what was entirely clear to Gauff at that moment: “I needed a reset.” So before the second set, the 20-year-old from Florida went to the bathroom, changed part of her outfit and splashed water on her face. Then Gauff went back on court and extended the defense of her first Grand Slam title by turning things around to beat the 27th-seeded Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“Felt like a new person coming out,” the third-seeded Gauff said. “I just didn’t want to leave the court with any regrets.”
After making mistake after mistake early on at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff managed to reel off nine of 11 games in one stretch and won again despite losing the opening set, something she did three times en route to claiming the 2023 trophy at Flushing Meadows, including in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.
“It was in my mind today. It gave me a lot of confidence,” Gauff said, “just because it felt like déjà vu a little bit.”
On Sunday, Gauff will face No. 13 Emma Navarro, one of her teammates at the Paris Olympics, for a berth in the quarterfinals. Navarro eliminated Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“I did a good job of neutralizing her serve and just playing really aggressive from the baseline and pushing back against her groundstrokes,” Navarro, who is from South Carolina and won an NCAA title for Virginia, said about that matchup last month. “And then always getting one more ball back in the court.”
Navarro advanced Friday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over No. 19 Marta Kostyuk. Other women’s fourth-round matchups set up in the afternoon were No. 7 Zheng Qinwen vs. No. 24 Donna Vekic, and No. 26 Paula Badosa vs. Wang Yafan. No. 2 Sabalenka was among the women scheduled to play at night, when the program also included 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic against No. 28 Alexei Popyrin.
The first men’s fourth-round pairing that was set up was No. 6 Andrey Rublev against No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov.
Zheng-Vekic is a rematch of the gold medal match at the Summer Games four weeks ago; Zheng won that one.
Vekic beat Gauff in the third round at the Olympics, part of Gauff’s recent drought against top-50 foes. That also was part of a recent slump that saw Gauff win just five of her previous nine matches.
Such a contrast to a year ago, when Gauff won 18 of 19, and 12 in a row, along the way to two tuneup titles on hard courts and then the championship at the U.S. Open that made her the first U.S. teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
By the conclusion of one set against Svitolina, it seemed as if another loss might be in the offing. Gauff’s totals were 16 unforced errors — nine on backhands — and just seven winners. She put only 45% of her first serves in. She went 0 for 3 on break points. She allowed Svitolina to claim 19 of the 28 points that lasted more than four strokes.
All of those numbers got better across the last two sets as Gauff tried to be more aggressive with her forehands and be more careful with her backhands. And something else changed, at the behest of her coaches: Gauff got the partisan crowd more involved.
Svitolina said afterward she was bothered by an ankle injury picked up last week
“I feel like she started to go (for) more a little bit. But to be fair, I didn’t play the way that I wanted to play. … Then she started to be more alive,” said Svitolina, a three-time Slam semifinalist. “And, of course, the crowd was behind her.”
Everything began to change for Gauff on Friday after 1 hour, 10 minutes, when she broke to lead 4-2 in the second set, smacking a cross-court forehand winner. She celebrated with a yell of “Come on!” and raised her left hand to wiggle her fingers and ask the spectators to get louder.
Soon that set belonged to Gauff, who closed it with a 94 mph ace, shook a fist and shouted.
In the third, with UConn women’s basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd sitting in her guest box at Ashe, Gauff broke right away, then held to go up 2-0 with the help of one 38-stroke point that she took when Svitolina sent a backhand wide.
Soon it was 5-1 for Gauff, whose only late wobble came when she served for the match at 5-2. She wasted three match points and got broken there. But Gauff broke right back to close things out.
“I’m glad that I had that match,” Gauff said, “because I think it just makes me match-tough and gets me ready, probably, for future challenges.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
In a thrilling match at the US Open, 17-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff staged an impressive comeback to defeat Elina Svitolina and advance to the next round. Gauff, who has been making waves in the tennis world since bursting onto the scene as a teenager, showed her resilience and skill as she fought back from a set down to secure a hard-fought victory.
Svitolina, a seasoned player ranked in the top 20 in the world, came out strong in the match, taking the first set with some powerful play. However, Gauff refused to back down and dug deep to turn the tide in her favor. With her trademark aggressive style of play and never-say-die attitude, Gauff was able to outmaneuver Svitolina and ultimately claim victory in three sets.
The win was a significant milestone for Gauff, who has been steadily climbing the ranks in women’s tennis and gaining recognition for her talent and potential. With this victory, she has set up a highly anticipated match against Emma Navarro, another up-and-coming young player who has been making waves on the professional circuit.
The match between Gauff and Navarro promises to be an exciting and closely contested battle between two of the brightest young talents in women’s tennis. Both players possess a combination of power, speed, and skill that make them formidable opponents on the court. Fans can expect to see some thrilling rallies and impressive shot-making as these two rising stars go head-to-head for a spot in the next round of the US Open.
As Gauff continues to impress with her performances on the court, she is quickly establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with in women’s tennis. Her ability to compete at such a high level at such a young age is a testament to her talent and dedication to the sport. With each match she plays, Gauff is proving that she has what it takes to compete with the best in the world and make a name for herself as one of the top players in women’s tennis.
As fans eagerly await the match between Gauff and Navarro, they can look forward to witnessing some incredible tennis from two of the most promising young players in the game. With their talent, determination, and competitive spirit, Gauff and Navarro are sure to put on a show that will captivate audiences and showcase the bright future of women’s tennis.
