Coco Gauff Rallies to Keep US Open Title Defense Alive Against Svitolina

Coco Gauff staged a remarkable comeback after losing the first set to Elina Svitolina, ultimately winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the U.S. Open's third round on Friday. This victory extends the 20-year-old American's defence of her first Grand Slam title.

Gauff, seeded third, struggled initially at Arthur Ashe Stadium, making numerous errors and losing the last 11 points of the first set to the 27th-seeded Svitolina. "She's a fighter," Gauff remarked. "I knew I had to play my best."

Gauff's Strategy Shift

To turn things around, Gauff focused on being more aggressive with her forehand and reducing backhand errors. "I tried to be more aggressive on my forehand side," she explained, "and tried to make less errors on the backhand." This approach paid off as she managed to win nine of the next 11 games.

By the end of the first set, Gauff had accumulated 16 unforced errors—nine from backhands—and only seven winners. She landed just 45% of her first serves and failed to convert any of her three break points. Svitolina dominated longer rallies, winning 19 out of 28 points that lasted more than four strokes.

Engaging the Crowd

Gauff's coaches encouraged her to get the crowd more involved. "My team was kind of like telling me that the fans were on the edge of their seats," Gauff said. "So I said, OK, I need to erupt so you guys can erupt." This strategy seemed to work as she improved significantly in the last two sets.

This victory breaks a five-match losing streak for Gauff against top-50 opponents and could help her overcome a recent slump where she won only five of her previous nine matches. This is a stark contrast to last year when she won 18 out of 19 matches, including 12 in a row, leading up to her U.S. Open triumph.

Key Moments in the Match

The turning point came after 1 hour and 10 minutes when Gauff broke Svitolina's serve to lead 4-2 in the second set with a cross-court forehand winner. She celebrated by urging the crowd to get louder. She then closed out the second set with a 94 mph ace.

In the third set, with UConn women's basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd watching from her guest box, Gauff broke Svitolina's serve immediately and held her own serve to go up 2-0. A crucial moment came during a 38-stroke rally that ended with Svitolina hitting a backhand wide.

Gauff extended her lead to 5-1 but faced some resistance when serving for the match at 5-2. She squandered three match points and got broken but quickly recovered by breaking Svitolina's serve again to seal the victory.

On Sunday, Gauff will compete for a spot in the quarterfinals against either No. 13 Emma Navarro or No. 19 Marta Kostyuk. Navarro recently defeated Gauff in Wimbledon’s fourth round last month.

This win might be just what Gauff needs to regain her form and confidence as she continues her campaign at this year's U.S. Open.