NEW YORK (Reuters) – Defending champion Coco Gauff was tested early but righted the ship in time to secure a spot in the last 16 at the U.S. Open with a confidence-boosting 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory over plucky Ukrainian Elina Svitolina on Friday.
Third seed Gauff, who conceded just six games across the opening two rounds in New York, faced her toughest test yet against Svitolina but managed to raise her game to a higher level as the match wore on.
Gauff did well to swat aside a pair of early break points and reach 2-2 but Svitolina, the 27th seed, kept pressuring the American and broke at love for a 5-3 lead before serving out a set in which she won the final 11 points to grab control.
But Svitolina was unable to maintain her aggressive start and suddenly began playing more defensively while Gauff managed to wake up the rather subdued crowd when she broke for a 4-2 lead before going on to serve out the second set.
Gauff, who arrived at U.S. Open eager to bounce back from a run of disappointing results, saved her best tennis for the decider, consolidating a break to go ahead 2-0 and establishing a 4-1 double break cushion.
With a chance to serve out the match, Gauff threw Svitolina a lifeline as she squandered a 40-love lead but the American struck back the next game with a break at love to close out the match.
Gauff, who is trying to become the first woman to defend a U.S. Open title since Serena Williams won three straight from 2012-14, will face either fellow American Emma Navarro or Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Comments