U.S. Open 2024: Coco Gauff comes back from first-set loss to defeat Elina Svitolina
Coco Gauff reacts after defeating Elina Svitolina during the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
Oh no. Not Coco Gauff, too.
That seemed to be the collective mindset of the visibly uneasy crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday afternoon after Gauff, the defending U.S. Open champion, dropped the first set of her third-round match against Elina Svitolina, the 27th ranked player in the world.
Less than 24 hours earlier Carlos Alcaraz, like Gauff a former U.S. Open champion and a No 3 seed, suffered a stunning straight set loss to Bostic van de Zandshulp, the 74th best player in the world. Now it appeared that Gauff was in danger, too.
"My team was kind of like telling me that [the fans] were on the edge of their seats," Gauff later explained. "So, I said, 'OK, I need to erupt so you guys can erupt.'"
Erupt is exactly what the 20-year-old American did, bouncing back from a mistake-laden first set to play some of her best tennis in a month. In fact, her 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Svitolina might be exactly what the 20-year-old Gauff needed to snap her out of a slump that saw her win just five of her previous nine matches.
The victory was Gauff’s 10th straight at the U.S. Open, making her the youngest woman to win 10 or more matches here since Serena Williams did here in 1999 and 2000.Gauff also became the sixth American woman to win 60-plus Grand Slam matches in the Open Era before turning 21.
Of course, what Gauff would really like to do is become the first woman to win back-to-back titles here since Williams won the second of her three straight titles here from 2012-2014.
That wasn’t looking terribly likely after Gauff committed 16 unforced errors, including nine on backhands, and just seven winners in the first set. She wasted all three of her break points and landed only 45 percent of her first serves.
Svitolina was Gauff’s first real test of the tournament. A three-time Grand Slam semifinalist, the Ukrainian took Gauff to three sets in the finals of the Auckland Classic this January. After losing the first set, Gauff knew she had to reset and took a break.
“I just went and used the bathroom, changed the bottom half of my clothes and splashed some water on my face,” Gauff said. “I felt like a new person coming out. I didn’t want to leave the court with any regrets.”
The pivotal point in the match — for both Gauff and the crowd — came in the second set when Gauff broke Svitolina to take a 4-2 lead. After smacking a crosscourt forehand winner, Gauff screamed “come on” and then raised her fist to the crowd as if to bring them into her game.
With UConn basketball players Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd cheering her on from her guest box, Gauff continued to press the accelerator. After she won an a 37-stroke point to help go up 2-0 in the third set, the mood at Ashe turned festive.
The only blip in Gauff’s game after that came when she wasted three match points when she was up, 5-2, and ended up getting broken. She recovered quickly, breaking right back to close out the match.
The match should serve as a well-needed confidence booster for Gauff, who struggled coming into the tournament. This comeback win ends a five-match losing streak for Gauff against opponents ranked in the top 50. It was also the way that Gauff won that has to buoy her spirits. Since making her Grand Slam debut in 2018, Gauff has won 12 major matches after dropping the opening set, second only to Ons Jabeur (13) in that stretch.
“She’s one of the opponents that you have to earn. She never makes it easy,” Gauff said of Svitolina. “I think honestly, I’m glad I had this match because it makes me match tough and gets me ready for future challenges. I know my next round won’t be an easy one either.”
No, it won’t. The win sets up a rematch with fellow American Emma Navarro on Sunday. It was Navarro who defeated Gauff at Wimbledon in the fourth round earlier this summer.
The 13th-ranked Navarro defeated Marta Kostyuk, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, Friday. Gauff is looking forward to the rematch.
“If this tournament started a week earlier, I felt like it would have been different because I was just in a completely different headspace'" said Gauff. "Now that I’m in it I’m just taking one match at a time.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
