These days, people mature quickly, and Coco Gauff is no exception.
She struggled to explain how someone who had once seemed so bright, so destined for greatness, could still be waiting for her big moment when she was a wobbly tennis youngster probably heading into the desert of the sport.
She is the main draw of her home Grand Slam event in September, the new face of her sport in America, and a finalist at the U.S. Open.
On a hot and humid Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Coco Gauff, a 19-year-old prodigy from sultry South Florida, defeated Czech Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to her first U.S. Open singles final. Muchova’s all-court game and the bizarrest of atmospheres had put Gauff to the test like never before, but in the end the night went her way in front of a crowd that erupted repeatedly in support of her.
In her on-court interview, she stated, “Some of those points were so loud, I don’t know if my ears are going to be OK.
The winner will compete against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. When the new rankings are released the following week, Sabalenka, who will move up to the top slot, won a wild three-set match against Madison Keys by scores of 0-6, 7-6 (1), and 7-6 (10-5) to secure her place. The match lasted till almost one in the morning. Keys was up a service break midway through the third set and served for the match at 5-4 in the second. She came close to setting up an all-American final, but Sabalenka’s power game, which was marred by mistakes, was just good enough to win.
Coco Gauff is a “amazing player,” Sabalenka remarked. I’ll compete for every point, she said.
Gauff was in control of the match when a protest against climate change early in the second set resulted in a delay of about 50 minutes. One protester had glued his feet to the pavement on a higher level of the stadium with adhesive, and the New York Police Department and security personnel battled to remove him.
Coco Gauff was playing well enough to take advantage of a Muchova who appeared to be playing with a tight right arm. Muchova played with a black compression sleeve covering her right arm from her biceps to her wrist and, according to Muchova, tape below the sleeve. At the time of the break, Gauff was leading 6-4, 1-0.
Gauff and Muchova left the court during the holdup and made an effort to maintain their freedom in the locker room and the warm-up area. Muchova received a massage while lightly jogging in the hallway outside the changing area. Coco Gauff, who appeared carefree, approached a USTA employee and bent over to look at images of the demonstrators being shared on social media.
Later, she recalled worrying that a climate protest would start, similar to those that occurred at Wimbledon this year and the French Open in 2022 when she woke up on Thursday morning.
That might have been a foreboding. Perhaps a player with a reputation for always completing her studies prepared it. Despite spending her whole high school career on the pro tour, she graduated on schedule in the spring of last year. She and her family attended a celebration in Paris, won six matches at the French Open, and advanced to the final before falling to the No. 1 player in the world, Iga Swiatek, on a day when she said the emotion of the event overcame her.
A sellout crowd of over 24,000 spectators arrived on Thursday ready to celebrate a new American tennis champion a year after watching Serena Williams play her final match, marking the end of an era for Serena Williams. However, the delay sapped their enthusiasm early on.
Coco Gauff, who had her breakthrough at Wimbledon when she was 15 and participated in the French Open last year, has developed over the past four years into the most likely contender to fill the vacuum. She hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, the competition where the spotlight shines on her the most, since then, and her career appeared to have stalled, particularly on large stages.
She declared, “I’m having a lot more fun than I did three years ago.”
This run and the championship, which is now just one match away, didn’t seem realistic two months ago, but on Thursday night, Coco Gauff provided ample evidence that it now is. She has long possessed many of the skills necessary to compete at the highest level in the sport, including a lethal serve, a resilient backhand, and the speed and athleticism necessary to provide the best court coverage in the women’s game.
She has mastered their use over the past five weeks, stabilising her wobbly forehand, which was her downfall. She used both power and looping forehands and pounded serves while also slashing several into the corners against Muchova. She charged the net while cutting backhands. She gained control of the game’s momentum and fought with Muchova until the Czech star gave them away. With a feathery drop shot, she earned the opening match point.
Gauff, according to Muchova, “is moving well and really gets that extra point back.” “Therefore, you need to concentrate and complete points. To see where she is running, you must actually be on the court. To finish the ball at the net or attempt to play it early, you must consider where to place it.
After gaining a 5-1 lead in the first set, Coco Gauff faltered midway through, dropping three straight games as Muchova began to hit and forced Gauff to her heels. As Gauff attempted to end the match at 5-3 in the second, she dropped her serve once more.
It would take an additional three games, one more break of Muchova’s serve, five more match points, a lung-busting 40-shot rally that was virtually never ending, the penultimate game, and moonballs that floated ten feet above it.
Gauff had several forebodings both before and at the marathon stage. She claimed to have known that point was imminent, that she had the necessary legs and lungs for it, and that all that was required of her was patience. She started to believe that this point would decide the match, and if she could win it, Muchova wouldn’t be able to endure yet another arduous test as the balls sailed back and forth.
She declared, “She was definitely going to go for the winner or miss.” “That’s what took place,”
Coco Gauff held on until Muchova’s final crisp serve went long after she had delivered it.
Since her first match in the U.S. Open, New York has been hers. This evening, she also had a spot in the finals.
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