- Coco Gauff was challenged by Elina Svitolina, but fought back to win.
Coco Gauff survived her toughest test yet at this year’s US Open by rallying to beat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the third round.
Gauff began the match by forcing a deuce at 0-40 on Svitolina’s serve, and while she would later lose the game, that set was indicative of the hard work she would show to keep her US Open defense alive.
Svitolina, the world number 28, was in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last month and Gauff did well to overcome some shaky moments and get stronger as the match progressed.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match today,” Gauff said on court afterward. “She’s a fighter.”
At the start of this festival of plays there was very little to differentiate between the players as both were happy to stay on the baseline and take advantage of their groundstrokes.
That worked for both initially, as both players held serve for seven games, though Gauff had to overcome some stumbles and escaped three break points in her first three service games, including a 15-40 gap that she clawed back for 2-1.
Coco Gauff beat Elina Svitolina to advance to the fourth round of the US Open
Svitolina took the first set, but Gauff fought back to defeat her opponent in Arthur Ashe.
Gauff then found herself in the opposite position, leading 40-15 with Svitolina serving at 3-3, but she was unable to capitalise and it was not long before her opponent struck the first blow of the match.
The Ukrainian broke Gauff’s serve clearly in the next game, winning every point after three consecutive backhand errors from the American, and there was little resistance soon after as she served out the set.
The second set began with Gauff in another dangerous position in the third game, as she trailed 15-30 on serve.
But – with the help of a backhand winner on the next point that barely grazed the line – she rallied to stay afloat and go 2-1 up.
She also escaped what could have been a disastrous collapse two games later, when she saw her serve falter after a few imperious points and a 40-15 lead evaporate at deuce.
There, however, she stood her ground to survive a breakup and eventually found an opportunity afterward.
The turning point of the match was perhaps at 30-30 with Gauff leading 3-2, when she hit a forehand down the line and let out a scream in unison with a friendly New York crowd.
This set her up to earn a vital break point and ultimately the set (and the match), as she hit an emphatic ace to level the match shortly after.
The momentum would continue from there, as she broke Svitolina’s serve on her first opportunity in the third set, and again shortly after as she took control of the match.
Still, the final moments tested her resolve as she squandered a triple match point while serving at 5-2, largely due to two consecutive double faults before Svitolina grabbed a break to stay alive.
That was as far as she got, however, as Gauff kept her cool and broke her serve in the next game.