NEW YORK — Coco Gauff came back from a set down to defeat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday, helping the 20-year-old American defend her maiden Grand Slam title.
The third-seeded Gauff was erratic in the first set at Arthur Ashe Stadium, dropping the last 11 points to three-time major semifinalist and 27th-seeded Svitolina.
“She’s a fighter,” Gauff said. “I knew I had to be at my best.”
But Gauff won nine of the 11 games at once and won the title despite losing a set. She lost a set three times on her way to winning the 2023 US Open, where she also faced Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
What’s the secret this time?
“I tried to be more aggressive on my forehand,” Gauff said. “And I tried to make fewer mistakes on my backhand.”
Seems simple enough, right?
The comeback snaps Gauff’s five-game losing streak against top-50 opponents and could be the catalyst he needs to snap out of a slump that has seen him win just five of his last nine matches.
A year ago, Gauff won 18 of 19 tournaments, won 12 straight and claimed two tune-up titles on hard courts before winning the U.S. Open, becoming the first American teenager to win at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
On Sunday, Gauff will play for a place in the quarterfinals, which will see her face the winner of Friday’s second-half match between No. 13 Emma Navarro of the United States (who beat Gauff in the fourth round of Wimbledon last month) and No. 19 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
Everything began to change for Gauff in just one hour and 10 minutes on Friday, when she hit a cross-court forehand winner to go up 4-2 in the second set. She celebrated by shouting, “Come on!” and raising her left hand, waving her fingers and asking the crowd to cheer louder.
Soon the set was Gauff’s, and he finished it off with a 94-mile-an-hour ace, shaking his fist and screaming.
In the third inning, with UConn women’s basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Azzy Foard sitting in Ash’s guest box, Goff broke right in and then Svitolina sent a backhand wide to make it 2-0 with the help of a 38-stroke.
It was soon Gauff’s 5-1, and her only late wobble came when she served for the match at 5-2. She squandered three match points and was broken there. But Gauff broke right back to finish the match.
Goff became the sixth American woman to win 60 majors before her 21st birthday, joining Serena Williams, Mary Jo Fernandez, Chris Evert, Venus Williams and Tracy Austin.
ESPN Stats and Information and AP contributed to this report.
