NEW YORK — This is pretty much all anyone needs to know about defending champion Coco Gauff's 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the US Open's fourth round Sunday: Gauff wound up with more double-faults, 19, than winners, 14.
It was the latest in a series of early-for-her exits in recent weeks, including bowing out in the third round at the Paris Olympics, then going 1-2 at hard-court tuneup events before arriving in New York. «I feel like there's 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had, even though it's (the) least, probably, (I've) done well during this time of the year,» said the No.
3-seeded Gauff, who went 18-1 during the North American swing on hard courts 12 months ago, including the run to her first Grand Slam title. «So many people want to be in the fourth round.
So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flag bearer. It's perspective.» The 20-year-old from Florida did fight her way back into the match with a four-game run in which she claimed 14 of 17 points and grabbed the second set. «Had a little bit of a lull there,» said the 13th-seeded Navarro, an American who was 0-2 at the US Open until this year, «but I was able to regroup.» After each of her previous two contests in New York, Gauff headed back out onto the practice courts to work on her serve.