Third-seeded Coco Gauff limited issues with her serve on Saturday while notching a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 28 Magdalena Frech of Poland in a third-round match at the U.S. Open in New York.
Gauff, 21, won 25 of 35 first-serve points (71.4 percent) while reaching the second weekend of the U.S. Open for the fourth straight year. She won the event in 2023.
Gauff committed just four double faults against Frech after having 18 over her first two matches.
“I know this process would be up and down, so today was definitely a positive, and I hope it goes up from here,” Gauff said of recent changes to her serve. “I think for me, I guess I’m more proud of the mental effort of things and trying to remember the things that we worked on in practice. Today I definitely think was a step in the right direction.”
Gauff committed 18 unforced errors while Frech had 29.
In her second-round victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic, Gauff had seven double faults in the first set and broke out in tears.
There was no need for lament during the win against Frech.
“It’s been like an emotional week, but I think I needed those tough moments to move forward,” Gauff said. “Overall, I’m really happy how I played and to be through to the next round.”
Gauff will next face No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan in Monday’s Round of 16. Osaka registered a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 15 Daria Kasatkina of Australia.
Osaka had a 9-3 edge in aces and took advantage of Kasatkina’s 14 double faults.
No. 11 Karolina Muchova hit 40 winners while posting a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2 win over No. 21 Linda Noskova in an all-Czech matchup.
Muchova will next meet No. 27 Marta Kostyuk after the Ukraine native rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Diane Parry of France.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland battled through a tough first set before ousting No. 29 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a match lasting four minutes shy of two hours. Swiatek had the advantage in winners (28-16) and won 5 of 12 break-point opportunities. Kalinskaya, who converted 4 of 6 break points, had more double faults (11-5) and unforced errors (34-33).
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, the 18th seed, dispatched Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2. Similarly, Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 13th seed, sped past Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-0, 6-1 in exactly 60 minutes.
Eighth-seeded Amanda Anisimova needed three sets before defeating Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in two hours, 10 minutes. Anisimova had the edge in winners (37-10) but also unforced errors (46-26).
–Field Level Media
