Coco Gauff came back to beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in three sets to keep her title defense ambitions alive.
When the American was coming in to this year‘s US Open, It wasn’t entirely clear which version of Coco Gauff we were going to see.
After a disappointing outing at the Paris Olympics, Gauff hit the American hard courts sluggishly with just one win in three matches.
However, having breezed through her two opening contests at Flushing Meadows, Gauff was due a more difficult opponent and in Elina Svitolina, she got one.
With a late Svitolina surge in the first set, Gauff was going to have to take the scenic route if she were to keep chances of successful title defence on the cards.
And with some tremendous ball striking the 20 year-old bounced off the crowd’s energy to level things up before taking the initiate early in the decider to sail into the last four.
Coco Gauff matches Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova with US Open record
Having taken three sets to beat the Ukrainian in Auckland earlier this year, an already struggling Gauff was expected by some to crash out prematurely.
With the 20-year-old having broken a bucket full of records already, a third round win saw her match another.
After her latest win, Gauff becomes the player with the joint-most wins at the US Open in Women’s Singles this century before turning 21, equalling the early dominance of Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
A successful win in her fourth round match will see the 20-year-old surpass the two legends, with Gauff managing to shake off the criticism and play her typical gutsy tennis.
Who is Coco Gauff’s next opponent?
With American tennis enjoying bags of recent success, it feels fitting that to raw young talents face off in New York.
Emma Navarro’s win against another Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk similarly saw her get the job done in three sets.
With Navarro enjoying a successful run in Toronto, she remarkably comes in perhaps with a slight edge.
It was only at Wimbledon where the pair most recently met, with Navarro playing an absolute blinder to storm past Gauff.
Navarro’s season has gone from strength to strength with her now knocking on the door of the WTA top 10.
Get your popcorn ready for this one, as the defending champion searches for revenge.
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