NEW YORK — Coco Gauff turned things around after being a set down and beat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open’s third round on Friday, extending the 20-year-old American’s defense of her first Grand Slam title.
The third-seeded Gauff made mistake after mistake in the first set at Arthur Ashe Stadium and dropped its last 11 points against the 27th-seeded Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist.
“She’s a fighter,” Gauff said. “I knew I had to play my best.”
But Gauff managed to reel off nine of 11 games in one stretch and won despite losing the opening set, something she did three times en route to winning the 2023 trophy at the US Open, including in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.
The secret this time?
“I tried to be more aggressive on my forehand side,” Gauff said, “and tried to make less errors on the backhand.”
Sounds simple enough, right?
This comeback ends a five-match losing streak for Gauff against opponents ranked in the top 50 and might be just what she needs to move past a recent slump that saw her win just five of her previous nine matches.
Such a contrast to a year ago, when Gauff won 18 of 19, and 12 in a row, along the way to two tuneup titles on hard courts and then the championship at the US Open that made her the…
