New York – Coco Gauff has no doubles for the first time in her first service game. This was the first time she wasn’t broken.
With her work in progress, this is by far the best performance on Flushing Meadows journey, the No. 3-seeded Gauff beat her most solid, most stress-free performance on Saturday, beating her fourth round win in 2023 with No. 28 Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-1.
“It’s like an exciting week…but I think I need those tough moments to move forward,” Goff said, who will be berthed in the quarterfinals against four-time champion Naomi Osaka or No. 15 Daria Kasatkina on Monday. “I put too much pressure on myself.”
After two tough wins under the lights at night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff’s schedule began at 11:30 a.m. On a cloudless morning, shadows covered nearly half of the blue court, without any tears or struggles marking her earlier appearance.
“It’s hard to see the ball, but overall, I’m happy with the way I play,” Goff said.
On her two earlier outings, Gauff was 2-0 against Ajla Tomljanovic and Thursday’s Donna Vekic. Against Frech, the 21-year-old from Florida rose 3-0 and then had a series of trouble: Goff scored a second serve into tennis and scored Frech within 3-2 and soon after 26 minutes.
So essentially, they start over and the next game is key. Gauff leads 40 Love, but ends with a 40-30 mark after landing a forehand 10 feet away.
Thousands of fans began to shout encouragement and applause in an attempt to help Goff. She heard, looking around, grabbing a ball and shaking violently. Gauff went to baseline and sent out his first serve of 105 mph, attracting the wrong reward. She leaned forward as the ball landed, clenched her left fist and screamed “Come on!”
This started three games of a match, and Gauff was on the way. Her serving has become a major problem, which is why she brought biomechanics expert Gavin Macmillan to why he helped Aryna Sabalenka solve her YIPS and went to No. 1 with three major titles in the WTA rankings, including in New York a year ago.
Gauff’s 2024 championship defense ended with a fourth-round loss, with her 19 doubles. She was the worst player on the Women’s Tour this season, reaching 23 in Montreal’s victory last month and 14 more in her next game.
In the wins against Tomljanovic and Vekic, Gauff had 18 doubles in total and lost 10 games. What keeps her through is the rest of her: back, defense and once the ball plays a clear advantage.
The last three areas are once again the advantage of Goff. She broke Frech five times, and whenever their baseline exchange lasted more than four strokes, she scored 35 of her 51 points. She also made only 18 uncompulsory mistakes and raised this in 10 of the 11 Nets.
Of course, everyone’s eyes were staring at Goff’s serve, which showed a big improvement on Saturday: four double faults, just a breakthrough. Her first hit rate was 76%, with an average of 98 mph and a top speed of 113 mph
