In the opening set of her third-round match against Elise Mertens on Friday, Coco Gauff looked fallible, frustrated and like she would be finished early, nothing like she had earlier this week at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n
Mertens, a 27-year-old Belgian, was playing loosely and aggressively, while Gauff, the 19-year-old American superstar, made error after error on just about every stroke. Gauff, usually possessing preternatural emotional maturity and composure, showed frustration throughout the early part of the match, uncharacteristically yelling out angrily after a double fault in the first set, which Mertens won 6-3.<\/p>\n
It was suddenly easy to imagine Gauff\u2019s run at the U.S. Open coming to an end on this cool New York evening.<\/p>\n
Instead, Gauff turned it on and turned the emotional tables on Mertens. She won the second set less shakily, 6-3, and by the third, it was clear how badly Gauff wanted to win, as she used her immense foot speed to track down every ball, forcing Mertens into errors. Gauff won the third set cleanly, 6-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy today definitely helped me, I felt you guys, I was playing every point my hardest,\u201d Gauff said in her on-court interview. \u201cWhen you lose the first set, you know that you have to show that you left all that energy in the first set and you\u2019re ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff said that the \u201cthree setters show everybody else that I\u2019m not going down without a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The early night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium drew a packed house that included the pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, the model and influencer Hailey Bieber, along with the Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and the actress Katie Holmes.<\/p>\n
The crowd was lopsided for Gauff from the night\u2019s opening serve. Cheers of \u201cLet\u2019s go, Coco\u201d and \u201cFinish her, Coco\u201d boomed throughout the stadium. The crowd jumped to its feet and fans high-fived each other at every positive turn for Gauff, though it was slow going until the second set.<\/p>\n
Friday marked the third time the two had faced each other, with Gauff winning their last encounter in straight sets at the 2022 French Open. Gauff acknowledged in an interview before the match that she had won their last encounter handily, and wasn\u2019t expecting to win so easily this time around.<\/p>\n
Not long into the first set it seemed almost certain that Mertens would advance to the round of 16. Then everything flipped.<\/p>\n
Gauff lost the first game of the second set, then fought hard to hold serve after six deuce points. On the sixth, she hit an ace down the middle and screamed \u201cCome on!\u201d It was her fourth ace of the match at that point. As the match wore on she crushed a risky overhead and when Mertens hit a loopy cross-court backhand, Gauff pounced, sprinting to the ball and then jumping in the air to crush it down the line with her forehand.<\/p>\n
When she clinched the second set with a backhand winner down the line, she pumped a fist, and extended her arms, beckoning the crowd to cheer for her. Mertens looked hopeless.<\/p>\n
Gauff started the third set energetically as Mertens\u2019s game completely fell apart. She netted forehands, hit backhands long and double-faulted.<\/p>\n
Gauff will next play Caroline Wozniacki, who recently returned to tennis after retiring three years ago to focus on building a family. Wozniacki has had a stellar start to the tournament, defeating Petra Kvitova in straight sets in her first-round match and Jennifer Brady in three sets, after being down a set, in her second-round match.<\/p>\n
Gauff said she told Wozniacki when she retired that she wished she\u2019d had a chance to play her. \u201cThat wish came true,\u201d she said. \u201cPlaying a legend like her is really exciting and I\u2019m not going to take the moment for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff, who had looked like a veteran as she steamrollered Mertens in the third set, quickly reminded us she is still a teenager.<\/p>\n
In an interview on the ESPN desk inside Ashe after the match, Gauff said she noticed Bieber in the crowd during the second set.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, I definitely saw who was there,\u201d she said with a giggle. \u201cI thought I cannot lose in front of Justin Bieber. I didn\u2019t lose a game after I saw that. I got a little tight when I first saw him, then I remembered President Obama and Michelle Obama were at my first round match.\u201d<\/p>\n