NEW YORK (AP) — This is pretty much everything anyone needs to know about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the U.S. Open fourth round on Sunday: Great finished with more double faults (19) than winners (14).
It was the latest in a series of early exits in recent weeks, including dropping out in the third round at the Paris Olympics and then going 1-2 at hard-court tune-up events before arriving in New York.
“I feel like there are 70 other players in the draw who would love to have the summer I’ve had, even though it’s probably done the least well at this time of year,” the number one said. . 3-seeded Gauff, who went 18-1 in the North American swing on hard courts 12 months ago, including the run to her. first Grand Slam title. “So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make it to the Olympics. So many people want to be standard bearers. It’s perspective.”
The 20-year-old from Florida fought her way back into the match with a four-game series in which she claimed 14 of the 17 points and took the second set.
“It was quiet there for a moment,” he said the 13th seeded Navarroan American who until this year was 0-2 at the US Open, “but I was able to regroup.”
After each of her past two matches in New York, Gauff returned to the practice courts to work on her serve. That didn’t help much on Sunday, when she tied her career high with double faults: She also had 19 losses at the 2020 French Open. Against Navarro, Gauff delivered a trio of double faults in four different matches. Eleven of the double faults occurred in the final set alone.
Gauff attributed her problems to a mix of problems with her mechanics: “I often lie on my left side during my serve, and that’s something I’m aware of, but it’s difficult at the moment, I think, to try not to do that. do it,” she explained – and in her mind.
“Sometimes it’s more of an emotional, mental thing, because if I were to go on the practice court right now, I would do about 30 serves in a row. I’ve done it before,” Gauff said. “I think it’s also just a mental hurdle that I have to get over when the time comes. … But I definitely want to look at other things, because I don’t want to lose these kinds of games anymore.”
She finished with a total of 60 unforced errors – a whopping 29 on her forehand side.
The 23-year-old Navarro, who also knocked out Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon in Julywas much more stable on Sunday, although she still made 35 unforced errors.
“It was a battle of wills there for a while. But proud of my effort today,” said Navarro, an American teammate of Gauff at the Paris Games. “I was able to hold on in some difficult moments.”
This result follows a third round loss to defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday, meaning the long drought without anyone winning back-to-back titles in New York will continue. The last woman to win at least two in a row was Serena Williams with three from 2012-2014; the last man to do this was Roger Federer with five from 2004-2008.
Frances Tiafoe knocked out No. 28 seed Alexei Popyrin, the player who stunned Djokovic, on Sunday night with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 win. The No. 20 seed advanced to his third consecutive US Open quarterfinal and will play No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6 -3 with 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams watches and gives a thumbs up at the end of the match.
Also on the move on Sunday was No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who defeated three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Fritz’s opponent in the quarterfinals will see 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev ease past Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
“I’m at the point now where I’m still happy to get to the quarter-finals, but I wouldn’t be happy if it ends here,” said Fritz, who has yet to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam. “I’m definitely at the point where I really want more than that.”
The Wimbledon victory over Gauff was deserved Navarrothe 2021 NCAA singles champion for the University of Virginia, her first appearance in a major quarterfinal. Her second comes Tuesday in New York against No. 26 Paula Badosa, a 6-1, 6-2 winner against Wang Yafan. The other women’s match of the day is between No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka – she was runner-up to Gauff last year and defeated Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday – and No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, who defeated No. 24. Donna Vekic 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 in a match that ended at 2:15 a.m. on Monday, the final finish of a women’s race in the history of the US Open.
The quarterfinals give Navarro another chance to play in front of a big crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She had never hit a ball there until Sunday, and she certainly felt quite comfortable.
“I’ve been on big tracks before where I felt completely overwhelmed and almost like it was an out-of-body experience. But I didn’t feel that way today,” Navarro said. “I felt comfortable from the moment I stepped onto the field, and I was a little surprised about that. I had actually prepared myself for the worst, just in terms of feeling overwhelmed and nervous.
It certainly didn’t perform that way.
Gauff was the one who couldn’t bring her the best.
“I expected better, but in the end it happened,” Gauff said, “and I know I can turn it around.”