US Open
Tennis star Gauff at the US Open with difficulty in the round of 16
Coco Gauff has reached the round of 16 at the US Open. photo
© John Minchillo/AP/dpa
As at the start against Laura Siegemund, Coco Gauff wins at the US Open in the third round after losing the first set. Another high-seeded player, however, fails.
Co-favorite Coco Gauff has the early end of the US Open prevented and reached the round of 16. The 19-year-old American fought back against Belgian Elise Mertens in the third round game on Friday evening (local time) and won 3:6, 6:3, 6:0 after 2:04 hours.
In the round of the top 16, Gauff meets Caroline Wozniacki, who is 14 years his senior. In her first Grand Slam tournament after a tennis break of more than three and a half years, the Dane defeated the American Jennifer Brady in the third round 4: 6, 6: 3, 6: 1.
Rybakina surprisingly fails
The former Wimbledon champion Jelena Rybakina, on the other hand, surprisingly failed in the third round. The fourth-seeded Kazakh lost to Sorana Cirstea from Romania 3: 6, 7: 6 (8: 6), 4: 6 and is still waiting for the first round of 16 at the US Open. Cirstea now has to deal with the Swiss Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, who won 7: 6 (7: 1), 2: 6, 6: 3 against Lin Zhu from China.
Gauff initially had some problems in front of pop star Justin Bieber in the stands, as in her first round duel with German Laura Siegemund. “The energy definitely helped me tonight,” Gauff told fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
During the interview on the pitch, she was asked why she had lost the first set in a Grand Slam tournament for the ninth time and then won it. “In the past it was probably inexperience,” said Gauff, laughing. “But today Elise played really well. A win is a win, no matter how you achieve it.”