Coco Gauff has taken a step closer to defending her US Open title. However, she faced a challenge in losing the first set of her third-round match with Elina Svitolina on Friday.
Admitting that losing the first set prompted her to be more aggressive, Gauff’s change in approach, coupled with the support of the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, propelled her to secure the next two sets convincingly, resulting in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
“I think I tried to be more aggressive, especially on my forehand side and making less errors on the backhand,” Gauff mentioned in her post-match interview. “I was missing a lot of backhands in the net so I was just trying to make less errors. She was playing well. She was playing aggressive. She was hitting her spots and I think the difference was just me being more aggressive, especially on serve.”
The turning point in the match arguably came in the second set when Gauff broke for a 4-2 lead. Sensing that momentum was on her side, Gauff encouraged the crowd to ramp up the noise level. Subsequently, she frequently dominated Svitolina with her serving prowess.
Despite Svitolina appearing to struggle with a foot injury, Gauff’s resilience following the initial set loss was commendable.
Returning to Queens seems to have reinvigorated Gauff, who faced challenges in her recent tournaments leading up to the US Open. She experienced early exits at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, as well as a surprising first-round defeat at the Cincinnati Open against Yulia Putintseva.
During last week’s Media Day at the US Open, Gauff expressed her anticipation of performing better due to increased training opportunities compared to her preparation for previous tournaments. Losing early in those competitions allowed her more time to train.
“The main focus was trying to be as ready as possible for here, which I feel like it was a blessing in disguise I lost so early, because I was able to actually train, which I hadn’t been able to,” Gauff stated, via Tennis.com. “I do my best results when I come off a training block.”
The No. 3 seed progresses to the fourth round, where she is set to face fellow American No. 13 Emma Navarro on Sunday. Gauff will have a chance for redemption as she faces Navarro once again, who previously defeated her at Wimbledon earlier this summer.