US Open: Coco Gauff dominates Jelena Ostapenko to reach the semifinals

CNN
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Coco Gauff continued her emphatic winning streak US Open On Tuesday, outperforming Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

The world number six was unbeaten in the first set before wrapping up a convincing 6-0 6-2 victory to book her first semi-final spot at the US Open.

With many of the best seeds in Women’s lottery Having already been eliminated, Gauff remains one of the few candidates left.

Gauff, 19, will face either Sorana Cirstea or Karolina Motova, this year’s French Open runner-up, in the next round.

“I’m so happy,” Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals. I am happy and ready to get back to work on the next stage.

The American faced a tough challenge against a resurgent Ostapenko after Latvia beat defending champion Iga Schvetek in the previous round.

But as she played in front of her home crowd, Gauff showed no signs of stress and dominated her opponent to win the first set in just 20 minutes.

Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017, stormed out in the second set much more aggressively, winning two matches to avoid a complete defeat.

In the end, however, the frustrated Latvian proved to be incompetent against Gauff as she was penalized for repeated fouls.

And while the result looks certain on paper, Gauff is still working for her victory.

Ostapenko saved two match points as Gauff looked to close out the contest, but the American eventually powered through with a precision forehand for her 10th consecutive win.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match, even on match points,” Gough added.

“I know the game [Ostapenko] He plays. She has the ability to come back no matter the score, so I was just trying to get every point, and put every ball in the goal.

“It’s really tough against her because you can’t be really aggressive, so I’ve been trying my best to be aggressive when I can and most of the time I’m just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a solid player and she’s had a great tournament.”

With the win, Gauff became the first American teenager to reach the semifinals of the US Open since Serena Williams in 2001.

It’s also only the second time in Gauff’s career that she’s reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam – most recently at the French Open in 2022, where she eventually lost in the final to Schvetke.

After beating Świątek in the previous round, Ostapenko was not happy with the amount of rest time she had between the impressive win and her match against Goff.

“I mean, if I play a match, like a late-night session, I suppose that in a day, I should at least play at the same time or later because you don’t have much time to recover. I think I think,” Ostapenko told reporters after losing. That schedule was better for her because she obviously played much earlier in the day than the night session.”

The 26-year-old added that she was sure she would face Gauff in the night session.

“The thing is, when I asked the day before, I was pretty sure I would be playing in the night session because that’s what they told me. When the schedule came out, I saw I was playing the first game and I said, ‘Wow, that’s a bit of a weird schedule,'” Ostapenko added.

“Yeah, when I saw the table I was a bit surprised, not really in a good way.”

CNN has reached out to the United States Tennis Association regarding Ostapenko’s comments but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Gauff now has a huge opportunity at Flushing Meadows.

Monday’s action saw No. 1 seed Schwiatk, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Owens Jabeur eliminated from the tournament, leaving Gauff and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka as the top two remaining seeds. Left in the women’s draw.

And with some convincing wins already in New York, Gauff arguably has her best chance of winning her first Grand Slam title.

The top seed remaining in the draw, Sabalenka, will face Chinese rising star Zheng Kenwen – who is enjoying a career best run in a Grand Slam after comfortably beating last year’s finalist Jabeur in straight sets in the round of 16 – in the quarter-finals.

Schwijk’s early exit means Sabalenka will become world number one on Monday, marking the first time in her career that she has topped the rankings, and her rise comes after a stellar year in which she won three titles, including her first. The four Grand Slams at the Australian Open.

Sabalenka says she is “playing great tennis right now” but knows there are “always things to improve” as she expects a tough match against Cheng.

“We’ve trained with her many times,” she told reporters after defeating Daria Kasatkina on Monday. “She plays really good tennis. [Her] The forehand is really heavy, I would say the backhand too. Serves well. moving well.

“It’s like she has nothing to lose, so she’s playing at her best. She played great tennis against Owens – I didn’t watch her previous matches, but she’s playing great tennis now.

“The hardest part is that she moves well, plays some powerful shots. I have to be ready physically and mentally because there will be some winners against me in that match.

“I just have to focus more on myself than on her. I know if I’m going to bring my tennis over there, I’ll have a chance of winning this match.