World No. 6 Coco Gauff defeated Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets on Tuesday with a 6-0 6-2 victory in the 2023 U.S. Open quarterfinals, advancing the 19-year-old to the semifinals for the first time. ESPN Stats & Info tweeted that Gauff is the first American teenager to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since Serena Williams did so in 2001.
Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win: “I’m so happy. Last year I lost in the quarterfinals. I’m happy and ready to get back to work on the next one.” She added: “Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match – even on the match points. I know the game [Ostapenko] plays. She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just trying to get every point, put every ball in. It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could, and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a tough player and she had a great tournament.”
Gauff is seeking her first Grand Slam title; she reached the quarterfinals at the French Open before losing to No. 1 seed Iga Świątek in straight sets. Her previous best finish at the U.S. Open was a quarterfinal appearance last year, before falling in straight sets to Caroline Garcia.
Gauff is also chasing a doubles title with partner Jessica Pegula. They will take on Su-Wei Hsieh and Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The last player to win a singles and doubles title in the same year was Serena Williams in 1999 at the age of 18.
Gauff will face either Sorana Cîrstea, or this year’s French Open runner-up Karolína Muchová, in the next round.
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