Coco Gauff Is The 1st American Teen To Reach US Open Semifinals Since Serena Williams In 2001

Coco Gauff Is The 1st Teen To Reach US Open Semifinals Since Serena Williams In 2001

Coco Gauff has made it clear she wants to chart her own path — and she’s already on the right track.

The 19-year-old Florida native is the first American teenager to make it to the final four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams finished second to her older sister Venus — who Coco Gauff has said is one of her idols — in 2001.

Coco Gauff defeated 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday with a score of 6-0, 6-2, marking her 16th win out of her last 17 matches.

 

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In July, she lost in the first round of Wimbledon in July. Her finest Grand Slam performance to date was reaching the final at Roland Garros last year, though she ultimately lost to Iga Swiatek.

Gauff said,

“Last year, I lost in the quarterfinal stage, and I wanted to do better this year. Still have a long way to go, but I’m happy and I’m ready to get back to work for the next one.”

Jelena Ostapenko is said to be a hard opponent to beat when she brings her A-game to the court. She finished Tuesday’s match in Arthur Ashe Stadium with 36 unintentional mistakes, while Gauff made 14.

The young tennis star noted that even on match point, she didn’t comfortable because she knows how Jelena Ostapenko plays. Gauff lost to Ostapenko at the Australian Open in January, acknowledging that her peer has the potential to bounce back no matter the outcome.

Gauff made use of her speed, intelligence, and reflexes to intercept Jelena Ostapenko‘s strongest groundstrokes and return them to the opposing side.

She said,

“There’s a saying in basketball that defense wins games. In tennis, that’s not always the case, but today it was definitely the case. It’s important to have both ends of the court. The defense has always been there, but I’ve been improving my offense, and I think it’s showing and translating well on the court.”

Gauff will compete against either No. 30 Sorana Cirstea of Romania or No. 10 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals on Thursday.

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