Glorious Gauff soars past Ostapenko into maiden US Open semi-final

Tennis News
Tuesday, 05 September 2023 at 19:25
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Coco Gauff soared past Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals of the US Open, winning the match 6-0, 6-2 to reach her first semi-final at Flushing Meadows.

Sixth seed Gauff has had a strong run at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York, moving past the likes of Mirra Andreeva and Caroline Wozniacki. Meanwhile, twentieth seed Ostapenko came into the match off the back of a surprise victory against defending champion and top seed Iga Swiatek, whom she ousted 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

However, the hot air and Gauff's smart play ended up creating what one Sky Sports commentator called a "perfect storm of bad tennis" for Ostapenko in her quarter-final match.

Gauff dominates match, Ostapenko loses control

Gauff dominated the match from the very beginning, breaking Ostapenko in the first game. Indeed, the latter's unforced errors were already causing her a huge problem. In the second game of the match, Ostapenko had six unforced errors for one winner.

As the set continued, Gauff looked steady and focused, appearing to prioritize consistency and speed to outwit her opponent. Another unforced error gave Gauff a second break point, and yet another saw her achieve a double break in the first set.

As the match went on, Ostapenko appeared to be struggling with the heat and the sun as Gauff continued her clever navigation of the court, coming into the net to win a third break point before going on to serve for the match. Ultimately, the American won the first set 6-0 in twenty minutes.

Gauff solid throughout second set

In the second set, Ostapenko seemed to be fighting back a little more. Nevertheless, it took her several shots to come up with a winner in the first game as Gauff seemed to be able to meet every one of her attempts. Despite Ostapenko's best efforts, Gauff broke her in the first game once more.

However, the 26-year-old managed to finally get her first game on the board after breaking Gauff immediately afterwards to level the set. This didn't last long, though, as the 19-year-old won a battle on deuce in the next game to win back the break and re-take the lead.

Ostapenko was clearly not having a good day at the office, committing unforced errors over and over, as well as only getting 38% of her first serves. As the set went on, more unforced errors saw Gauff get another break and she ultimately hit 5-2 as the match ticked over the one hour mark.

Gauff then served for the set. Although Ostapenko got a 30-0 lead, more unforced errors saw the match go to deuce and Gauff get the advantage. After a long and tense rally, the home player won the match and let out a joyous cry.

Gauff will face either Sorana Cirstea or Karolina Muchova in her next match at the US Open.

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