Early on in her third-round matchup against Elina Svitolina at the 2024 US Open, Coco Gauff looked like she was in trouble. Then, in the midst of the second set, Gauff flipped a switch and stormed back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win to reach the fourth round.
Gauff got off to a painfully slow start at Flushing Meadows on Friday. The No. 27 seed Svitolina came out and had the No. 3 seed Gauff on her heels after taking the first set, 6-3, thanks to a late break point. The second set didn’t start much better for Gauff as she found herself trailing 2-1.
However, Gauff was eventually able to find her footing in the fourth game. At one point, Gauff won nine of 11 games and took complete control of the match. After winning the second set, 6-3, Gauff cruised to another 6-3 win in the decisive third set and finished it on a break.
It was an impressive comeback for Gauff, who is no stranger to those in major events. Since 2019, she has now won 12 Grand Slam matches after dropping the opening set. Only Ons Jabeur has more in that span.
After the match, Gauff said the key to this comeback was attacking with her forehand and cleaning up her backhand.
“I tried to be more aggressive on my forehand side and tried to make less errors on the backhand,” Gauff said.
This win also put Gauff in some elite company. Gauff joined Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Mary Joe Fernandez, Chris Evert and Tracy Austin as the only women to hit 60 wins before turning 21.
Gauff will now take on fellow American Emma Navarro in the Round of 16. The two battled earlier this year at Wimbledon where Navarro scored the massive upset in the fourth round.
KVSP