‘Let’s go Coco’: US Open crowd roar approval as Gauff reaches quarter-finals

Coco Gauff used her superior speed to overcome a second-set deficit and clinch a thrilling 7-5, 7-5 win over China’s Zhang Shuai to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time.

In a battle between the youngest player left in the draw, the 18-year-old Gauff, and the oldest, the 33-year-old Zhang, it was the Chinese player who looked sharper at the outset, breaking for a 2-0 lead in the first set. But 12th seed Gauff battled back and fired a backhand winner to claim the first set and electrify her home crowd.

Zhang, a human backboard content to extend rallies from the baseline, grabbed a 5-3 lead when she broke Gauff with a backhand winner of her own in the second set. But Gauff remained poised, breaking back to take a 6-5 lead and winning the point of the match with her astonishing speed when she slid from corner to corner to elicit the error from Zhang.

That was crazy Coco