Coco Gauff loses US Open crown as star exodus continues | Tennis News

Coco Gauff joined Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on the US Open scrapheap because the defending champion crashed out to Emma Navarro in a blizzard of errors.

As Gauff exited on Sunday, US hopes have been then rekindled when Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz reached the boys’s last-eight, igniting hopes of a primary homegrown male Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick’s win in New York in 2003.

Third-ranked Gauff slumped to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, fourth-round defeat to her American teammate. She was her personal worst enemy, nonetheless, particularly on serve the place she had 19 double faults – as many as she had in her first three matches mixed – whereas she additionally made 60 unforced errors.

The 20-year-old’s exit means Serena Williams stays the final girl to efficiently defend the US Open title again in 2014.

“I misplaced within the first around the final two years and now to be making the quarterfinals is fairly insane,” stated Navarro, who will face Spain’s Paula Badosa for a spot within the semifinals.

Gauff’s loss was one other physique blow to the season’s ultimate grand slam.

Djokovic, the defending males’s champion, was knocked out within the third spherical to endure his earliest exit in 18 years.

Fellow crowd-pleaser Alcaraz, the 2022 winner in New York and reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, was shocked within the second spherical.

“I gave it my all,” stated Gauff. “Clearly there have been issues execution-wise, the place I used to be like, I want I may serve higher. I feel if I did that, it might have been a unique story.”

Her compatriot Tiafoe joined former champions Andre Agassi, Roddick and Pete Sampras as the one American males to achieve not less than three US Open quarterfinals since 2000.

The Twentieth-ranked Tiafoe notched a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 6-3 victory over Alexei Popyrin, who shocked Djokovic within the final spherical.

Tiafoe will face Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov for a spot within the semifinals.

The 26-year-old is the second American man within the quarterfinals after Fritz defeated Casper Ruud earlier within the day.

Tommy Paul could make it three, however he has to get previous world primary Jannik Sinner on Monday.

“I used to hit the ball off a wall dreaming about taking part in on Arthur Ashe Stadium the place the Williams sisters received and the place [Roger] Federer received like one million instances,” stated Tiafoe.

“I wish to be a part of that. This courtroom brings out the very best in me.”

Frances Tiafoe celebrates his victory over Alexei Popyrin [Mike Frey/USA TODAY Sports]

Dimitrov, the ninth seed, put out Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 to return to the quarterfinals for the primary time since 2019 when he defeated Federer in what proved to be the Swiss legend’s ultimate look in New York.

Alexander Zverev, who blew a two-set result in lose the 2020 ultimate to Dominic Thiem, made his fourth quarterfinal by beating Brandon Nakashima of the USA, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Fourth-ranked Zverev served 14 aces and clubbed 51 winners previous the Fiftieth-ranked Nakashima.

Up subsequent is a last-eight conflict with twelfth seed Fritz, who got here again from two units right down to triumph within the pair’s dramatic fourth-round conflict at Wimbledon in July.

“That was a tremendous match. I count on a troublesome battle – it at all times is after I face Taylor,” stated Zverev.

Fritz knocked out 2022 runner-up and eighth-ranked Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 on the again of 24 aces to achieve his third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the 12 months.

New York-born Badosa reached her first US Open quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-2 win over China’s Wang Yafan.

Regardless of the one-sided scoreline, the primary two video games took 17 minutes. Badosa saved all eight break factors she confronted.

“It was so humid I assumed I used to be going to die,” stated the 26-year-old.

Ladies’s second seed and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, runner-up to Gauff final 12 months, eased right into a fourth successive quarterfinal by seeing off Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4, unleashing 41 winners.

Sabalenka will subsequent face both Zheng Qinwen or Donna Vekic, who have been going through off in a repeat of the Olympic Video games ultimate received by the Chinese language star.

Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka celebrates a point during her women's singles round of 16 tennis match against Belgium's Elise Mertens on day seven of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 1, 2024. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP)
Aryna Sabalenka has continued her run on the US Open unscathed. The Belarusian reached the quarterfinals with a win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens [Kena Betancur/AFP]

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