Coco Gauff moved into the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday with a dominant win over Poland’s Magdalena Frech on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The third seed produced a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Frech, who has now lost to a top 20 player in 20 out of 22 meetings during her career. Gauff broke her opponent five times and produced 12 winners en route to victory. Despite her credentials as a two-time Grand Slam champion, the US Open marks the first hard-court tournament where she has won three matches in a row (excluding walkovers) since the Australian Open in January.
Gauff, who now holds a winning record of 30-1 against players ranked outside the top 20 at Grand Slam tournaments since the start of 2023, is through to the last 16 in New York for the fourth time in her career. At the age of 21, she has now won 74 matches at major events, which is the second-highest achieved by a female player under 21 since 2000, after Maria Sharapova.
“I thought today I played well,” Gauff said during her on-court interview.
“It was tough playing two night matches and then having to play with the shade on that side (of the court). It was kind of hard to see the ball but overall I’m really happy with how I played and to be through to the next round.”
The 2023 champion headed into the clash having won her two previous meetings against Frech without dropping a set. However, in the opener of their latest encounter, it wasn’t entirely straightforward for the American. Gauff got off to a solid start by claiming three games in a row before a series of costly unforced errors enabled her rival to break back and draw level. Cheered on by her home crowd, she then broke the Frech serve for a second time, which gave her enough of a margin to seal a 6-3 lead.
Gauff’s first-set triumph overwhelmed Frech, who produced a series of mistakes throughout the second frame. She stormed to victory by winning the last five games, closing the match out with the help of a forehand error from her opponent.
“I can’t put into words how privileged I feel to walk on this court and have the support of all of you guys, and also on social media and things like that,” Gauff said to the crowd after her latest win.
“I really appreciate every person, down to even the staff here. Having someone say that you’re rooting for you, like every five steps I walk into this place, means a lot to me.”
This is not the first time Gauff has spoken about how important it is to her to receive support from fans. After her second round match, she was on the verge of tears when reflecting on a ‘rough couple of weeks.’ The tennis star has been struggling with her serve and has shaken up her team by hiring a biomechanics expert, Gavin MacMillan, as a coach. MacMillan has previously worked with Aryna Sabalenka.
“It’s been like an emotional week but I think I needed those tough moments to be able to move forward,” she explains.
“I was putting so much pressure on myself. But I’m really out here just trying to enjoy it and not focus so much on results, but on the process.
“I think today showed that I was really having fun out there.”
Awaiting Gauff in the next round will be either two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka or 15th seed Daria Kasatkina.
