US Open: Coco Gauff into first semi-final after straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko at Flushing Meadows
- Coco Gauff dropped just two games en route to victory over Jelena Ostapenko
- She will face the winner of Sorana Cirstea or Karolina Muchova in the semifinals
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Coco Gauff is into her first US Open semifinal after a straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko.
The American teenager, the No 6 seed, took the first set 6-0 in only 20 minutes before wrapping up the match by taking the second set 6-2.
Gauff, who reached the quarterfinals last year but is still chasing a maiden Grand Slam title, is the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since Serena Williams in 2001.
For a place in this weekend’s final, she will face either Czech 10th seed and French Open finalist Karolina Muchova or Romanian 30th seed Sorana Cirstea.
‘It feels great, I’m so happy. Last year I lost in the quarterfinals and I wanted to do better this year. There’s still a long way to go but I’m happy and ready to go back to work for the next one,’ Gauff said.
Coco Gauff needed only one hour and eight minutes to beat Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday
The teenager won 6-0 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach her first US Open semifinal
Ostapenko grew increasingly frustrated as Gauff ran away with their quarterfinal in New York
Gauff has now won 16 of 17 matches since crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round. Her build-up to the US Open included titles in Washington and Cincinnati and here, the American converted six of her seven break points and dropped serve just once at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the temperature rose above 90 degrees.
Ostapenko entered the match full of confidence, having upset world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the previous round. But against Gauff the No 20 seed could not find her range and delivered an error-filled performance.
‘Honestly I didn’t feel comfortable at all the whole match, even on match point,’ the 19-year-old added. ‘She has the ability to come back… it’s really tough to play against her, you can’t really be aggressive… she’s a tough player and had a great tournament.’
Gauff was in control from the start and showcased excellent court coverage while delivering a steady stream of balls deep into the corners en route to capturing the first set in 20 minutes and limiting Ostapenko to seven points.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko, playing in her first US Open quarter-final, finally got on the board with a break to level the second set at 1-1 but Gauff never wavered and broke back for a 2-1 lead with a backhand crosscourt winner.
Gauff will face the winner of Sorana Cirstea or Karolina Muchova for a place in Saturday’s final
There’s still a long way to go but I’m happy and ready to go back to work,’ the American said
Ostapenko held serve for the first time 49 minutes into the match but 19-year-old Gauff went up a double break for a 5-2 lead before closing out the encounter on her serve in a game in which she had to come back after falling behind 0-30.
By the time it was over, Ostapenko had 36 unforced errors compared to 14 for Gauff.
With the win, Gauff avenged her round of 16 loss to the Latvian at this year’s Australian Open that left the American in tears.
Despite delivering a lopsided win to reach the second semi-final of her career, Gauff said she never felt comfortable on the court against Ostapenko.
‘I know the game she plays, she has ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just really trying to get every point, trying to play every ball in,’ said Gauff.
‘It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep.’