Gauff’s US Open title defence over amid hail of errors

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Gauff’s US Open title defence over amid hail of errors

Defending champion Coco Gauff has been sent packing from the US Open, losing to fellow ********* Emma Navarro 6-3 4-6 6-3 in the fourth round.

Third seed Gauff was unable to overcome a poor performance that included more double-faults, 19, than winners, 14.

World No.12 Navarro, who also eliminated Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, was far steadier on Sunday.

Gauff, 20, had won 10 matches in a row at Flushing Meadows, including the run to her first grand slam title a year ago.

Four of those came after she dropped the opening set – including in the 2023 final and in her third-round victory on Friday – but she could not complete the comeback this time.

That’s despite a mid-match, four-game run in which she claimed 14 of 17 points to steal the second set and get off to a good start in the third.

After each of her past two contests in New York, Gauff headed back out onto the practice courts to work on her serve.

That didn’t help much on Sunday. Eleven of her double-faults came in the final set alone.

Aside from those issues, Gauff finished with a total of 60 unforced errors – a whopping 29 on her forehand side, the biggest weakness in her game.

This result follows the surprising third-round loss by defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic on Friday night, meaning the lengthy droughts without anyone winning consecutive titles in New York will continue.

The last woman to win at least two in a row was Serena Williams with three from 2012-14; the last man was Roger Federer with five from 2004-08.

The Wimbledon win over Gauff earned Navarro, the 2021 NCAA singles champion for the University of Virginia, her first appearance in a major quarter-final.

Her second will come on Tuesday in New York against No.26 seed Paula Badosa, a 6-1 6-2 winner against Wang Yafan.

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