Gauff does the job, as Ostapenko doesn’t deliver

Let’s be clear right away: There was no popcorn today. The US Open didn’t get the Coco Gauff – Iga Swiatek battle that was all the hype, but it still could have had a spectacular quarter-final between the young American star and Jelena Ostapenko.

Unfortunately for the fans, this match was something of an anti-climax (6-0, 6-2). The Latvian didn’t show up, making only 38% of first serves and blasting far more unforced errors more than her winners. With 38 unforced errors across two sets, Ostapenko wasn’t going to beat Gauff.

Gauff will not complain about this, as she lost against a very inspired Ostapenko earlier in the year at the Australian Open. But Gauff, recently crowned champion at Cincinnati, has made loads of progress since then and looks like a woman on a mission in New York. Much more aggressive, ready to play on her own terms, she might have also gotten to another gear thanks to a victory over Swiatek right before the US Open. It’s safe to say that Gauff, who is also one of the top athletes of the Tour, is glowing with confidence right now.

Incredibly solid from the baseline, Gauff barely faced any issues against Ostapenko on Tuesday. Also, sure, “Penko” helped her a lot, we all agree on that. Still, defending her ground well, serving well enough to avoid being on the back foot all the time after Ostapenko’s returns, Gauff cruised through the match.

Sure, she lost a break early in the second set (1-0, 1-1) but with a rival who was clearly totally off her tempo and who, as usual, doesn’t have a plan B when that kind of bad day at the office happens, there was nothing to really be scared of for Gauff.

Gauff, 19 years old, keeps enjoying the results of the strong decisions she took this summer after Wimbledon. A change of team and a change of mindset are now putting her two wins away from her first Grand Slam title. Gauff has also now won 10 matches in a row for the first time in her career and will be the youngest American women’s player to reach the semi-finals here since Serena Williams in 1999.

But that’s obviously not enough for Gauff now.

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