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Coco Gauff continues her strong winning streak us open On Tuesday, she defeated Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
The world number six player did not lose a single game in the opening set and registered a spectacular 6-0, 6-2 win to seal her first semi-final berth at the US Open.
with many top seeds women’s draw Having already been eliminated, Gauff is still one of the few favorites left.
19-year-old Gauff will now face Sorana Cristea or this year’s French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova in the next round.
“I’m very happy,” Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals. I am happy and ready to get back to the next task.”
The American faces a tough challenge against rising Ostapenko after the Latvian defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek in the previous round.
But playing in front of the home crowd, Gauff showed no signs of nervousness and dominated her opponent to win the first set in just 20 minutes.
Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017, came out with far more aggression in the second set and won two games to avoid a complete whitewash.
However, in the end, the frustrated Latvian proved to be no match for Gauff as she was repeatedly punished for making mistakes.
While the result looks emphatic on paper, Gauff still had to work for her victory.
Ostapenko saved two match points while Gauff looked to close out the match, but the American ultimately managed to seal the win with an accurate forehand to seal her 10th consecutive win.
“To be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match – even at match point,” Gauff said.
“I know the game [Ostapenko] Plays. We have the ability to come back no matter what the scoreline is, so I was just trying to score every point, bowl every ball.
“It’s really tough against him because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive whenever possible, and most of the time I was trying to get the ball deep. He’s a tough player and he had a great tournament.”
With the win, Gauff became the first American teenager to reach the US Open semi-finals since Serena Williams in 2001.
This is just the second time in Gauff’s career that she has made it to the semi-final stage of a Grand Slam – the last being at the 2022 French Open, where she ultimately lost to Swiatek in the final.
After a win against Swiatek in the previous round, Ostapenko was not happy with the rest time allotted between the impressive win and the match against Gauff.
“I mean, if I play a match, like a late night session, I think, in a day, I have to play at least at the same time or later because you don’t really have much time to recover. “I think it was a better schedule for her because, obviously, she played a lot earlier in the day than I did in the night session,” Ostapenko told reporters after her loss.
The 26-year-old said she was confident she would face Gauff in the night session.
“The thing was, when I asked the day before, I was pretty sure I would play in the night session because that’s what they told me. When the schedule came out, I saw I was playing the first match and I was like, ‘Wow, this is a little weird schedule,'” Ostapenko said.
“Yeah, I was a little surprised when I saw the schedule, not really in a good way.”
CNN contacted the U.S. Tennis Association about Ostapenko’s comments but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Gauff now has a big opportunity at Flushing Meadows.
No. 1 seed Swiatek, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Ons Jabeur were eliminated from the tournament in Monday’s action, leaving Gauff and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka as the two highest remaining seeds. Omitted in women’s draw.
And with some solid wins already in New York, Gauff arguably has the best chance to win her first Grand Slam title.
Top seed Sabalenka, who survived the draw, will face rising Chinese star Zheng Qianwen in the quarter-finals – who is enjoying her career-best performance at a Grand Slam after comfortably defeating last year’s finalist Jabeur in straight sets in the round-of-16. Taking. ,
Swiatek’s early exit means Sabalenka will become the new world No. 1 on Monday, having topped the rankings for the first time in her career, her rise following a remarkable year in which she won three titles, including Including his first title. Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka says she is currently “playing great tennis” but knows she “always needs to improve” as she anticipates a difficult match against Zheng.
“We practiced with her many times,” she told reporters after her win over Daria Kasatkina on Monday. “She’s playing really great tennis. [Her] The forehand is really heavy, I would say even the backhand. To serve well. going good.
“It seems like she has nothing to lose, so she’s playing her best. She played very good tennis against Ons – I haven’t seen her previous matches, but yes, she is playing very good tennis right now.
“The toughest thing is that she is moving well, playing some heavy shots. I have to be prepared physically and mentally that there will be some winners against me in that match.
“I have to focus more on myself than on him. I know if I bring my tennis out there I have a chance to win this match.