US Open: Coco Gauff loses to Emma Navarro in fourth round

NEW YORK (AP) — That is just about all anybody must find out about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro within the U.S. Open’s fourth spherical on Sunday: Gauff wound up with extra double-faults, 19, than winners, 14.

“I don’t wish to lose matches like this anymore,” Gauff stated, attributing her serving issues to a mixture of mechanical points and psychological ones.

The No. 3-seeded Gauff had gained 10 matches in a row at Flushing Meadows, together with the run to her first Grand Slam title a yr in the past.

4 of these got here after she dropped the opening set — together with within the 2023 last and in her third-round victory on Friday — however the 20-year-old from Florida couldn’t full the comeback this time. That’s regardless of a mid-match, four-game run wherein she claimed 14 of 17 factors to steal the second set and get off to a superb begin within the third.

“Had slightly little bit of a lull there,” stated the Thirteenth-seeded Navarro, an American who was 0-2 on the U.S. Open till this yr, “however I used to be capable of regroup … and are available into the third set with a more energizing mindset.”

After every of her previous two contests in New York, Gauff headed again out onto the apply courts to work on her serve. That didn’t assist a lot on Sunday, when she tied her profession excessive for double-faults: She additionally had 19 in a loss on the 2020 French Open. In opposition to Navarro, Gauff delivered a trio of double-faults in three completely different video games — two of which she misplaced, at 1-all within the first set and, extra considerably, at 1-all within the third.

Eleven of the double-faults got here within the last set alone.

Apart from these points, Gauff completed with a complete of 60 unforced errors — a whopping 29 on her forehand facet, the largest weak point in her sport. The 23-year-old Navarro, who additionally eradicated Gauff within the fourth spherical at Wimbledon in July, was far steadier on Sunday and had 35 unforced errors.

“Coco’s an incredible participant, and I’ve a ton of respect for her,” stated Navarro, a U.S. teammate of Gauff’s on the Paris Olympics, “and I do know she’s going to come back again and win this factor once more one yr.”

This consequence follows the shocking third-round loss by defending males’s champion Novak Djokovic on Friday evening, which means the prolonged droughts with out anybody profitable consecutive titles in New York will proceed. The final lady to win a minimum of two in a row was Serena Williams with three from 2012-14; the final man to take action was Roger Federer with 5 from 2004-08.

The Wimbledon win over Gauff earned Navarro, the 2021 NCAA singles champion for the College of Virginia, her first look in a serious quarterfinal. Her second will come Tuesday in New York in opposition to No. 26 Paula Badosa, a 6-1, 6-2 winner in opposition to Wang Yafan.

Earlier Sunday, with 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams watching in Arthur Ashe Stadium and providing a thumbs-up at match’s finish, No. 9 males’s seed Grigor Dimitrov held off Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 to get to the quarterfinals.

The No. 6-seeded Rublev is understood for violent shows of frustration, and he wanted medical consideration from a coach for a lower on his left hand after hitting it in opposition to his racket within the first set. He slapped himself within the face throughout a meltdown within the second-set tiebreaker, which he led 3-1 earlier than shedding the following six factors.

Dimitrov now faces No. 20 Frances Tiafoe or No. 28 Alexei Popyrin, the participant who surprised Djokovic on Friday.

Additionally shifting on Saturday was No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who beat three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Fritz’s quarterfinal opponent will probably be 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, who bought previous Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

“I’m on the level now the place I’m nonetheless glad to make quarterfinals, however I wouldn’t be proud of it ending right here,” stated Fritz, who has but to achieve a Grand Slam semifinal. “I positively am on the level the place I really need greater than that.”

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