(New York) Coco Gauff shrugged off the heat, humidity and powerful rival to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time in her career with a 6-0, 6 win -2 against Latvian Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.
Gauff, a 19-year-old American, becomes the first American under 20 to reach the semi-finals in New York since 2001, when Serena Williams was runner-up ahead of her older sister Venus.
“Last year I lost in the quarter-finals so I wanted to get a better result this year,” Gauff said. I hope my journey will continue to stretch, but I’m happy to continue working in anticipation of the next game. »
This is Gauff’s 16th win in his last 17 games. Her best Grand Slam result is a participation in the French Open final in 2022. She then lost to Iga Swiatek.
This time, Swiatek was knocked out of her way by Ostapenko in the fourth round. This not only ended Swiatek’s defense, but also his reign as world No. 1. She will hand over her crown to Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings update next week.
When she is in full possession of her means, Ostapenko can seem unbeatable, because she goes all out with every shot. But the 2017 French Open champion can also have disastrous days like Tuesday, when she committed 36 unforced errors against Gauff.
“I didn’t feel comfortable throughout the game, even on match point. I know her style and I know she has the tools to bounce back no matter the outcome,” said Gauff, who lost to Ostapenko at the Australian Open in January. So I wanted to get through every point, try to play every ball. »
In Thursday’s semifinals, Gauff will face No. 10 Czech Karolina Muchova.
Muchova, a finalist at the French Open this spring, defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 in an hour 38 minutes.
Cirstea, No. 30, was just 1-for-11 in a broken situation. Notably, she wasted nine break points in a game that lasted about 18 minutes in the first inning.
Muchova dictated the pace of the encounter. She hit 32 winners, against 12 for Cirstea.
At this time last year, Muchova was No. 235 in the world and suffered first-round elimination at Flushing Meadows. For its part, Cirstea participated in the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time since 2009.
Wednesday’s two quarterfinals will pit No. 2 Sabalenka against No. 23 China’s Zheng Qinwen, as well as July Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic against No. 17 American Madison Keys.
