Coco Gauff found some calm at the US Open as she eased into the fourth round.
The third seed was in tears on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night as she again struggled with her serve before battling to victory over Donna Vekic.
Gauff is trying to remodel her action and there were four more double faults in the third round against Magdalena Frech, but the American was always in control in a 6-3 6-1 victory.
“It’s been an emotional week,” she said. “I needed those tough moments to be able to move forward. I was putting so much pressure on myself but I’m really out here trying to enjoy it and I think today showed I was really having fun out there.”
The only moments of concern for Gauff came in the first set when she was pegged back from 3-0 to 3-3, but she only lost one game thereafter.
“I thought today I played well,” she said. “It was tough playing two night matches and then having to play with the shade on one side, tough to see the ball, but overall I’m very happy with how I played and to be through to the fourth round.”
Gauff hopes the worst is now behind her in terms of her emotions, adding: “I felt with the new perspective, seeing all the support I’ve gotten since that moment, just seeing how proud people are of me regardless of how I do here.
“Today I felt a lot lighter going on court, and I hope to continue feeling that light weight for the rest of the time here.”
Next up Gauff faces a real test in the shape of a resurgent Naomi Osaka, who defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-0 4-6 6-3.
Two of the biggest stars of the women’s game will meet for the first time in New York since Osaka swept aside a then 15-year-old Gauff six years ago.
“My recollections were that I remember just knowing that she was going to be a really great tennis player, which I was right,” said Osaka.
“I thought she just handled herself really well, and I knew she was going to be back there. Now to be playing her again after six years, I don’t know if that makes me old, but just to be at this point of my life and to be playing her again honestly, for me, feels kind of special.”
Remarkably, it is the first time Osaka has made it back to the fourth round of a grand slam since she won the most recent of her four titles in Australia in 2021.
The 27-year-old has struggled since returning from the birth of daughter Shai at the beginning of last season, and she said: “Since I’ve come back, I kind of wanted everything to happen really quickly.
“So I think it took for me to just completely not even think about results anymore and just try to focus on every match by itself.”
Venus Williams kept her women’s doubles run going alongside Leylah Fernandez, the pair beating Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi 7-6 (1) 6-1 to reach the third round.
