NEW YORK — Coco Gauff dealt simply superb with the warmth, the humidity, her big-hitting opponent and the duty of making an attempt to succeed in the U.S. Open semifinals for the primary time, defeating 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 on Tuesday.
Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, is the primary American teenager to succeed in the ultimate 4 at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams was the runner-up to her older sister, Venus, in 2001.
“Last year, I lost in the quarterfinal stage, and I wanted to do better this year,” Gauff mentioned. “Still have a long way to go, but I’m happy and I’m ready to get back to work for the next one.”
This was the sixteenth victory in her previous 17 matches for Gauff — a first-round exit at Wimbledon in July positive looks like ages in the past. Her finest Grand Slam exhibiting up to now was making it to the ultimate at Roland Garros final yr.
Gauff misplaced that title match to Iga Swiatek and people two may have met once more in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. But Swiatek didn’t make it, as an alternative shedding to Ostapenko within the fourth spherical. That defeat not solely ended Swiatek’s title protection but additionally meant she is going to relinquish her spot at No. 1 within the WTA rankings to Aryna Sabalenka subsequent week.
When she is on the mark, as she was Sunday evening in opposition to Swiatek, Ostapenko could be as difficult an opponent as there may be, as a result of she goes for broke on practically each stroke. If the balls land in, she is in enterprise. When they don’t, she is in hassle. She completed with 36 unforced errors Tuesday; Gauff had 14.
“I didn’t feel comfortable at all the whole match, even on match point. I know the game she plays. She has the ability to come back, no matter the scoreline,” mentioned Gauff, who misplaced to Ostapenko on the Australian Open in January, “so I was just really trying to get every point, trying to play every ball.”
In Thursday’s semifinals, Gauff will face No. 10 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic or No. 30 Sorana Cirstea of Romania. They have been scheduled to play Tuesday evening.
The ladies’s quarterfinals on Wednesday will probably be Sabalenka of Belarus vs. No. 23 Zheng Qinwen of China, and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic vs. No. 17 Madison Keys, an American who was the runner-up on the 2017 U.S. Open.
Tuesday’s males’s quarterfinals have been 23-time main champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia vs. No. 9 Taylor Fritz of the United States, and No. 10 Frances Tiafoe vs. unseeded Ben Shelton in an all-American match at evening. It’s the primary time since 2005 that three U.S. males have been within the closing eight in New York.
When Gauff and Ostapenko began simply previous midday in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, the temperature was at 90 levels Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) and the humidity at 55%. At the break earlier than the second set, Ostapenko headed to the locker room, and Gauff sat on the sideline bench with a white towel filled with ice round her neck.
The American, naturally, had the gang on her facet. They applauded and yelled for Gauff even earlier than she stepped out on court docket, reacting when she was proven on the world’s video screens throughout a prematch TV interview.
The roars crescendoed when Gauff was launched earlier than play started.
And as soon as it did, she received off to about pretty much as good a begin as attainable, grabbing 12 of the opening 15 factors to go up by two breaks for a 3-0 lead after simply 10 minutes.
Only a kind of factors for the American arrived by way of her personal clear winner. She didn’t want to provide these types of pictures, although.
That’s as a result of Ostapenko saved lacking, to the tune of 10 unforced errors in that span alone. After lots of these miscues, she would flip towards her visitor field and glare at her entourage, as if maybe it have been their fault.
After one 118 mph ace (190 kph) by Gauff, Ostapenko held her racket and a hand inches (centimeters) aside, exhibiting she thought the ball landed exterior the field. But there aren’t any appeals on that form of factor these days, as a result of digital line-calling takes care of each such “Was it in or out?” ruling.
Gauff didn’t must attempt to pressure issues. To her credit score, she didn’t. What she did do was use her instincts, smarts and velocity to get to Ostapenko’s finest groundstrokes and ship them again over to the opposite facet. That exemplary protection would lengthen factors, most of the time, till Ostapenko erred.
“There’s a saying in basketball that defense wins games. In tennis, that’s not always the case, but today it was definitely the case,” Gauff mentioned. “It’s important to have both ends of the court. The defense has always been there, but I’ve been improving my offense, and I think it’s showing and translating well on the court.”
Ostapenko was the primary girl in 44 years to get to the U.S. Open quarterfinals by profitable all 4 matches in three units, and Gauff went the gap in three of 4 final week.
But this one was by no means headed that means.
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