Coco Gauff rallies from behind to keep her US Open title defense alive

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — Defending champion Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to win her US Open third round match against Elina Svitolina on Friday.

The American struggled to impose herself in a very tight opening set but upped her levels as the encounter wore on to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and keep her title defense alive.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium stood to applaud Gauff after she finally clinched match point, a distinct contrast to the nervous energy around the famous court after the 20-year-old had initially gone behind.

But Gauff was able to get the crowd off its feet as she began to dominate her opponent, occasionally orchestrating her fans to make more noise after winning points.

“I was using them to my advantage,” Gauff told Sky Sports when asked about the crowd.

“They always give me energy. So yeah, I was just trying my best to stay calm, you know, sometimes adrenaline can get too much.”

After winning the first set, Svitolina’s shoulders appeared to drop and errors started creeping into her game as Gauff tied the match.

The momentum stayed with youngster at the start of the deciding set as she broke serve at the first attempt.

But her Ukrainian opponent wasn’t going away without a fight and Svitolina managed to slow down Gauff’s seemingly inevitable march to the next round.

Even when the American had three match points on her serve, Svitolina capitlized on her opponent’s uncertainty to break back.

“It was a tough match. I got a little bit nervous at the end but I was able to find my nerves and just try again and focus,” Gauff added.

“I’m overall very happy with how I played. Elina (Svitolina) is not an easy player at all, especially so early in the tournament.”

Gauff trying to have fun

The 2023 US Open champion will now face fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round. In the fourth round at Wimbledon this year, Navarro bested Gauff 6-4, 6-3.

When asked whether she has her eyes set on the final, Gauff said she was just focused on taking in one step at a time.

“I’m just trying to go out here and have fun. I know from winning one that just from the fourth round, there is still so far to go. So I’m just focused on the match in front of me.

“Today, I wrote down in my journal that I don’t want to leave with any regrets so regardless of results, I was just trying to give myself the best opportunity to win.”

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