New York – This would not have been easy for anyone, and it wasn’t easy for Coco Gouf. She knows the expectations of others. Of course, she has her own expectations too.
The exit in the second round of the US Open on Thursday night simply won’t. And double-falling her way of defeat could be the worst possible scenario. So after she missed two consecutive services that broke and lag behind in the opening set with Arthur Ash Stadium’s Donna Bekic, Goff was overwhelmed and unable to hide it.
Tears came. They won’t stop. She covered her face with a towel over her sidelines. When she returned to court after the switch, Goff continued patting his eyes between the points, trying to focus and find a way to win. After she just did it, Gauff screamed a little more after straightening her serving issues in the second set and eliminating Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-2.
“There are bad days just showing people what it’s like to be human, but I think it’s about how you stand up after those bad moments and how it shows up afterwards,” said Gauff, who came third in 2023 at Frushing Meadows, where she won the first of two grand slam titles. ”
Her servings resurface from time to time, including when she contributed to the loss that ended her title defense in New York a year ago. She led the tour with over 300 double faults this season, hiring 23 times in 23 games in one match, and hired biomechanics expert Gavin Macmillan.
Macmillan changed the way Gouf hits, and she’s actually pounding so many people over the past week that she’s got shoulder pain.
“The biggest challenge for me is changing the movements and changing everything before a big tournament like this,” Gauff said. “This is one of the most tense tournaments for me, and in addition to this, there are a lot of them.”
In the first round, she needed three sets to pass Azilla Tomjanovic for a double fault.
But like that match, Gauff’s defense and advantage at baseline carried her past Vekic.
Did she leave something as emotional as Thursday?
“To be honest, it was just nerves and pressure. I can usually thrive. This tournament had more tournaments than usual. “Essentially, what you saw there was what it was and I was able to reset through it. But it was a challenging moment for me on the court. It was tough on the court for a few weeks, on and off the court, and I’m happy to get through it today.”
Vekic, who defeated Gouf at the Olympics in Paris on his way to the silver medal last year, offered lots of his own worries in the second half of the first set. She double fell 10 times.
In the first set, Gauff, 21, from Florida, had seven double faults and lost four of his six service games. But she quickly broke each of them and then excels in the tiebreaker.
As Vekic sent a long forehand to finish the set, Gauff’s mother rose from the single row seat behind Macmillan and cried out, “Come On! Let’s Go!”
Gouf headed towards the locker room, poured water over his face and regained focus.
It worked incredible.
She gathered herself and the second set went much smoother. Just a double fault, zero service in front of a crowd that includes star gymnast Simone Biles.
Finally, Gouf was in a much better mood, yelling, waving his left fist, which he had closed when the match was won.
She had noticed that Biles was on hand.
“She helped me pull it out. I was just thinking. If she could go to the six-inch beam and do it with all the pressures of the world, I could hit the ball. “She’s certainly an inspiration.”
Gauff’s next opponent was Magdalena Frech, who knocked out American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (6), 6-3 and 6-2 to advance to the third round.
No. 8 seed American Amanda Anishimova won Maya Joint 7-6 (2), 6-2.
On the boys’ side, top seed Giannik Thinner is No. Third seed Alexander Zverev and number 8 Seedalex de Minaur were caught in the third round with a straight set victory. The sinner won 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, a year ago over Alexei Popilin, who defeated Novak Djokovic at the US Open. Zverev defeated Jacob Fianry 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and past De Minaur, past Vucizki 6-2, 6-4, and 6-2.
14-seeded American Tommy Paul survived the tough five-setters and beat Nuno Borges 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5.
In the biggest upset of the day, ninth seed Karen Kachanov looked to be heading for an easy victory, but Kamil Majakurzak returned to win 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
