COCO GAUFF SURVIVED A late-match drama to keep her US Open title defence alive with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina on Friday as men’s defending champion Novak Djokovic aimed to further his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Gauff’s third-set surge had carried her to a 5-2 lead and triple match point, but she delivered a pair of double faults and Svitolina saved another with a blazing backhand on the way to a break.
But Gauff broke Svitolina at love in the next game to lock up the win.
In a tense, physical encounter on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff regrouped after a rocky end to the first set saw Svitolina break at love for a 5-3 lead and pocket the opener with a love game.
Gauff gained her first break of the match on her fourth opportunity for a 4-2 lead in the second and held on to force the third.
“I knew today was going to be a tough match – she’s a fighter,” Gauff said, saying more aggression on her forehand and fewer backhand errors helped her turn things around.
In other early matches, seventh-seeded Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen of China, who rallied from a set down in each of her first two matches, dispatched Germany’s Jule Niemeier 6-2, 6-1.
“Finally it’s the first match I won in two sets,” she said.
Spain’s Paula Badosa had to fight back for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) victory over Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who had toppled Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.
Gauff was followed on Ashe by Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, in a rematch of their memorable all-American quarter-final last year won by Shelton – who became the youngest American man in the US Open semis since Michael Chang in 1992.
© AFP 2024
