NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, September 6, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

Coco Gauff gave her fans a nearly flawless performance at the US Open Tuesday afternoon. It lasted a very brief and economical 68 minutes under a blistering, summer New York sun that baked Arthur Ashe Stadium. But it was sweet and memorable – and one her opponent won’t soon forget.

The 19-year-old American from Florida advanced to her first career US Open semifinal after defeating 2017 French Open champion and 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-0, 6-2, in their third career meeting. The World No. 6 Gauff, who bowed in the quarterfinals last year, became the first American teen to reach the US Open semifinals since Serena Williams in 2001, while Ostapenko was unable to build upon her three-set upset win over World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland from Sunday night.

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Following her confidence-building triumph – her 10th straight victory and shortest of the tournament – in a summer that has included lifting trophies in Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati, Gauff will face in-form No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Thursday’s semifinal round. Muchova showed much versatility in her attack – striking 32 winners – as she rolled over No. 30 seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-0, 6-3, in an hour and 38 minutes.

“It feels great, I’m so happy,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “Last year, I lost in the quarterfinals stage and wanted to do better this year. I still have a long way to go but I’m happy and I’m ready to get back to work for the next one.”

From the start, Gauff wasted little time or effort in establishing her dominance. She broke Ostapenko three times in their 21-minute opening set and never looked back. Gauff closed out the last eight victory with a forehand winner that ended a 17-shot rally, her 13th overall winner of the afternoon. Gauff outpointed Ostapenko 58-35.

Coco Gauff continues to shine. ✨ pic.twitter.com/y6oLELXdRZ

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2023

Despite winning the first seven games of the match and converting six of seven break points against her Latvian opponent, Gauff admitted she didn’t feel comfortable throughout the match against Ostapenko, who made 36 unforced errors – even at match point. She wanted to avoid a letdown.

“She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just trying to get every point, put every ball in,” Gauff admitted. “It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive. So, I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could, and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a tough player and she had a great tournament.”

Although Ostapenko gave props to Gauff in her post-match news conference, she was critical of her own performance. “She’s a great player, she’s still very young,” she said. “But I mean, as I said, the score is what it is, but so many games, especially in the second set, I had so many chances and I was missing the balls which I normally am not missing.”

Meanwhile, Muchova, who improved to 12-3 at Grand Slams this year, has reached the semifinals or better in three of the four majors after achieving her breakthrough at the 2020 Australian Open. She was a finalist at this year’s French Open. In meeting Gauff on Thursday, it will be a rematch of last month’s Western & Southern Open title match, won by the American.

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Djokovic advances to 13th US Open semifinals with Fritz victory

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who will return to World No. 1 next week, has reached the US Open semifinals for the 13th time in his career. Only Hall of Fame great Jimmy Connors, a five-time US Open champion, with 14 has reached more semifinals than Djokovic. It’s also the 47th major semifinal for Djokovic, which broke his tie with Roger Federer.

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On Tuesday afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Djokovic defeated No. 9 Taylor Fritz of the United States, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 34 minutes, to remain undefeated in US Open quarterfinals (13-0). It was his eighth straight victory over the American No. 1 and the 36-year-old Serbian great has now won 30 consecutive matches against American opponents. Now, he’s a win away from reaching a record-extending 10th US Open final.

“I am drenched in sweat and I saw Taylor changed shirts a couple of times,” Djokovic said of the 93-degree Fahrenheit temperatures (34 Celsius). “Difficult to play for both players. But it is the same for both players and that is why we train. To try to get ourselves in the best possible condition to deliver. It is not easy, but you have to fight.”

Novak Djokovic refuses to be defeated in #USOpen quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/MKdhLmUCMU

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2023

Djokovic broke Fritz’s serve six times after the 25-year-old California native had not been broken in his first four matches. Fritz had also not dropped a set until facing Djokovic, who hit 25 winners and saved 10 of 12 breaks points he faced. Djokovic outpointed Fritz 102-81.

Next, Djokovic will face another American in Friday’s semifinal round, as World No. 47 Ben Shelton edged past No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, in three hours and seven minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium Tuesday night. Shelton, 20, is the youngest American man in the US Open semifinals since 20-year-old Michael Chang in 1992.

“I like the energy and the atmosphere on the court here. I thrive on that energy, whatever the energy is, use it as a fuel to try and play my best tennis,” Djokovic said. “I have been playing on this court for so many years, so many epic matches. I can’t wait for another one in a few days’ time.”

Zverev keeps his cool in outlasting Sinner early Tuesday

On a brutally humid Labor Day Monday evening that soon turned into early Tuesday, World No. 12 Alexander Zverev of Germany outlasted No. 6 Jannik Sinner of Italy, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, over four hours and 41 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium — making it the longest men’s match in this New York fortnight.

The Flushing Meadows fans were loud and emotional – nothing new there – and in his post-match interview on court, Zverev acknowledged his love of the US Open fans, especially those who were cheering for him.

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However, things turned ugly in the fourth set after Zverev, a native of Hamburg complained to chair umpire James Keothavong that a spectator used language from Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime to heckle him.

“He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world,” Zverev told Keothavong, who is British. “This is unbelievable.”

After Keothavong consulted with stadium security officials and asked fans to be respectful of both players, the culprit, whom Zverev pointed to – a man wearing a baseball cap – was singled out and removed.

“A disparaging remark was directed toward Alexander Zverev,” U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said in a statement. “The fan was identified and escorted from the stadium.”

After the match, Zverev said in his on-court interview that the spectator was singing a Nazi-era anthem. 
“I love when fans are loud, I love when fans are emotional,” he admitted. “But I think me being German and not really proud of that history, it’s not really a great thing to do and I think him sitting in one of the front rows, I think a lot of people heard it. So, if I just don’t react, I think it’s bad from my side.”

Just an incredible effort by both players. pic.twitter.com/s4Wcuk5DZV

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2023

Zverev kept his cool to the very end against Sinner, who struggled with cramping in the second and third sets before making a valiant recovery in the fourth. The German No. 1 struck 14 winners in the final set en route to his fourth-round victory to set up a quarterfinal showdown with defending champion and this year’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Wednesday evening.

“I guess I can say I’m back, right? This is what I live for, this is what I absolutely love to do,” said Zverev, who suffered a severe ankle injury during the 2022 French Open that sidelined him for seven months. “I wish I could have played a little bit shorter, that’s for sure, but last year when I wasn’t able to play, these were exactly the moments I missed. Until 1:30 a.m. in front of a packed crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium. There’s nothing better.”

Around the US Open

Two-time defending US Open champions Rajeev Ram of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain advanced to the men’s doubles semifinal round and moved to within two wins of successfully retaining their title after defeating No. 5 seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni both of Argentina, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 42 minutes. It was the 16th straight US Open victory for Ram and Salisbury, who are seeded third this year. Next, they will face No. 2 seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the United States, who beat No. 9 seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and Jan Zielinski of Poland, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Also advancing were 2015 US Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, both of France. The Frenchmen, winners of five major titles but playing together for just the third time this season, defeated Robert Galloway of the United States and Albano Olivetti of France, 7-5, 6-4. Next, they will oppose No. 6 seeds Rohan Bopanna of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia, who eliminated No. 15 seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jason Withrow, both of the United States, 7-6 (10), 6-1.

By the numbers

• When Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton faced one another Tuesday evening on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it marked the first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal in the Open Era (since 1968) with multiple African-American men. Shelton was the youngest American to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick (at age 20) in 2002.

• Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia is just the third player to reach the women’s singles quarterfinals at the US Open via four 3-setters after Lesley Hunt (1978) and Sylvia Hanika (1979).

• Novak Djokovic was appearing in his 13th US Open quarterfinal, while it was the second for Frances Tiafoe and first for Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

“Quotable …”

“I learned that, you know, there’s still a lot of tennis left to play, and it’s a long match and a long tournament. You know, even though the semifinals, by theory, if you want to win there’s two matches left. You can’t think like that.

“I’m still in the mindset that I’m in the beginning of the tournament. I think that’s what I have learned, you know, in the past of being in quarterfinals, before I would think, you know, close to the end, but right now I have the mentality that I told myself I still have another two weeks to play. So that’s where my mind is at.

“Then obviously when it’s over, it’s over. But right now, I’m just saying another two weeks. And also, I think what’s helping is playing from D.C. to Montreal to Cincinnati, that was a long type of swing. So, I think doing well in those tournaments built my mental endurance. Always had the physical endurance but it built my mental endurance.

“Right now, I feel emotionally fresh, which I think was the problem in the past in Grand Slams, I would emotionally be drained. Obviously, I’m physically fresh and emotionally fresh, and I think that just came from experience.

“I think this is one of the harder runs I’ve had to the quarterfinal stage. Obviously never got to semis, but I don’t know, I just feel so fresh, to be honest. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been tricking myself or maybe when this is over, I’m going to hit a wall. But I’m really proud of how I’m able to get through these matches.”

– World No. 6 Coco Gauff of the United States, on her run to the semifinals of the US Open.