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This is all about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the US Open on Sunday (September 1, 2024): Gauff committed more double-faults, 19, than winners, 14.
“I don’t want to lose matches like this anymore,” Gauff said, attributing her serving woes to a mix of mechanical and mental issues.
Gauff, seeded third, had won 10 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows, including her first Grand Slam title a year ago.
Four of those wins came after she lost the opening set – including the 2023 final and Friday’s third-round victory – but the 20-year-old from Florida couldn’t make a comeback this time. That came after she lost four games in the middle of the match, winning 14 of 17 points to win the second set and getting off to a good start in the third.
“There was a little bit of a lull there, but I was able to regroup … and come into the third set with a fresh mindset,” said Navarro, the 13th-seeded American who was 0-2 at the U.S. Open until this year.
After her previous two matches in New York, Gauff went back to the practice court to work on her serve. That didn’t help much on Sunday, when she set a career-high for double-faults: She also had 19 double-faults during her loss at the 2020 French Open. Against Navarro, Gauff committed three double-faults in three separate games — two of which she lost, at 1-1 in the first set and, more crucially, at 1-1 in the third set.
Eleven double-faults came in the final set alone.
In addition to these issues, Gauff made a total of 60 unforced errors – 29 on her forehand side, which is the biggest weakness in her game. The 23-year-old Navarro, who knocked Gauff out in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, was much more steady on Sunday and made 35 unforced errors.
“Coco is an amazing player and I have so much respect for her, and I know she’ll be back in a year and win this title,” said Navarro, Gauff’s U.S. teammate at the Paris Olympics.
The result comes after a surprise third-round loss by defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic on Friday night (August 30, 2024), meaning the long drought of any man without winning consecutive titles in New York will continue. The last woman to win at least two consecutive titles was Serena Williams who won three titles from 2012-14; the last man to do so was Roger Federer who won five titles from 2004-08.
The Wimbledon win over Gauff gave Navarro, the 2021 NCAA singles champion for the University of Virginia, her first appearance in a major quarterfinal. Her second match will come on Tuesday in New York against No. 26 Paula Badosa, who won 6-1, 6-2 against Wang Yafan.
Earlier on Sunday, 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams declared victory late in the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, after men’s No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov beat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
No. 6 seed Rublev is known for violent displays of frustration, and had to seek medical help from a trainer after suffering a cut on his left hand after hitting his racket in the first set. He slapped his face in the second set tiebreaker, in which he led 3-1, but lost the next six points.
Dimitrov will now face either No. 20 Frances Tiafoe or No. 28 Alexei Popyrin, who beat Djokovic on Friday.
Also impressive on Saturday was No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who beat three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Fritz’s quarterfinal opponent will be 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, who beat Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
“I’ve gotten to the point now where I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals, but I wouldn’t be happy for it to end there,” said Fritz, who has yet to reach a Grand Slam semi-final. “I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I really want more than that.”
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