US Open – QF: Coco Gauff beats Ostapenko easily to advance to the semis

On Tuesday afternoon, in the blazing heat of New York, the American Coco Gauff, ranked 6th in the world, wasted no time in beating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, ranked 21st in the world. She won 6-0 / 6-2 in just over an hour. With this success, she reaches the last four of the US Open for the first time in her career.

Although this victory, given the scoreline, can be described as “convincing” for Coco Gauff, the match itself will not go down in the history books (only that of the biggest corrections). And the reason is obvious. Jelena Ostapenko, who had probably shown her highest level of play by eliminating Iga Swiatek in the previous round, is capable of the best and the worst. Today, it was the worst. In two short sets, she made around thirty unforced errors (against the Pole, she made only half that number, in three sets), for just 12 winners (a total below her standards). Gauff, for her part, was very solid in defense, and very precise in her attacking game in the first set, before dropping back in the second. The 19-year-old American made 14 unforced errors and 13 winners. It’s also worth noting that neither player finished with a positive first serve percentage (48% for Gauff, 38% for Ostapenko).

But more than Ostapenko’s help, Coco Gauff’s victory was above all a victory of the highest order, achieved in style as she followed her tactical plan to perfection. With this success, the young American reaches the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time in her career, the first being the US Open. For a place in the final of the New York major, she will face either Czech Karolina Muchova or Romanian Sorana Cirstea.