Coco Gauff reached the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time when she used her superior speed to overcome a second set deficit and pull off a thrilling win over China’s Zhang Shuai.
2022 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
US Open
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Quarterfinals- 7th September
Coco Gauff (12) (21/20) vs Caroline Garcia (17) (73/100)
This should be a dynamic clash between two players in absolutely red-hot form. Neither player has dropped a set throughout the entire tournament. What more is there to say about 18-year-old Coco Gauff?
She has once again reserved her best tennis for the Grand Slam stage (which is not the worst habit to have). A French Open finalist earlier this year, Gauff has just found a beautiful rhythm in New York. Her serve has been tremendous and she is overwhelming players from the baseline. That 3rd round victory against Madison Keys was just textbook Gauff. She did have a few shaky moments in her 4th round victory against Shuai Zhang.
Gauff only managed to win an underwhelming 62% of her first-serve points throughout the match. Still, the American won the final four games to seal a hard-fought win. Gauff will be looking to make her 2nd career Grand Slam semi-final. She is currently 1-1 in Grand Slam quarterfinals (both of those coming at Roland Garros).
She has won seven of her last nine hardcourt matches and you can really start to see a narrative building for Gauff. Wouldn’t it be fitting if she ascends to Grand Slam glory in the very event that Williams bows out?
I have to confess; I wasn’t really buying into the Garcia hype leading into this year’s US Open. The women’s game has just been so unpredictable, I wasn’t putting too much credence in her fantastic Cincinnati win. But it appears as if I was wrong to underestimate the rejuvenated Frenchwoman. She has been tremendous since returning from a foot injury (winning 17 of her last 18 matches).
She has now won 12 consecutive hardcourt matches and she has looked imperious in New York. She won 75% of her first serve matches in her 17-game demolition against Alison Riske. Her serve- though nowhere near as explosive as Gauff’s- has been working very nicely thus far.
Her forehand has allowed her to dominate matches and she will look to step inside the baseline against Gauff’s 2nd serve at every opportunity. Looking to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final, it will be interesting to see how she handles the pressure against heavy crowd favourite Gauff.
Verdict: Gauff to win in three at 39/10- Gauff leads the head-to-head with Garcia 2-0. The American won a very tight encounter at Indian Wells last year. She enjoyed a far more convincing win at Qatar earlier this year.
As I noted earlier, Garcia has a huge forehand that can dictate matches. But I just think that Gauff’s greater athleticism will win the day here. But you can expect a tight encounter.
Iga Swiatek (1) (2/5) vs Jessica Pegula (8) (2/1)
World No.1 Swiatek has thrived from being somewhat outside of the limelight this year. Imagine the scrutiny if she came into this event off the back of that 37-match winning streak? She dominated the early part of the season and she was always going to tail-off at some point. Everyone was talking about Serena Williams and Emma Radacanu going into this year’s US Open.
Swiatek has just quietly gone about her business, reaching her 3rd Grand Salm quarterfinal of the year and her 1st at Flushing Meadows. She courted a bit of controversy with a slightly unsportsmanlike gesture in her 4th round win against Brit Lauren Davies. She attempted to distract Davies while she prepared to dispatch a short ball.
There is an element of gamesmanship to the canny Pole. Like her idol Rafa, she likes to employ a variety of delaying tactics to disrupt her opponent’s rhythm. After annihilating her first three opponents, she got quite a scare against 23-year-old German Jule Niemeier.
She needed to rally back after dropping the first set. But she roared back in style, producing yet another bagel in the decider. That was the 19th 6-0 set victory for her this season. That’s the most for any player since Serena got 25 in 2013.
But next up for Swiatek is arguably the most consistent hardcourt player this season outside of herself: Jessica Pegula. The 28-year-old American (whose early career was ravaged by injury) reached semi-finals in Miami and Toronto this year. She also finished in the final eight in Cincinnati.
So, she clearly has a massive affinity for these North-American hardcourts. But perhaps what’s been more impressive has been her Grand Slam consistency. Like Swiatek, this will be her 3rd Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year (she reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne and Paris). And she looked absolutely magnificent against an in-form Petra Kvitova.
She dominated the first set before a slight hiccup in the opening stages of the 2nd. But she won the final six games to win the match 6-3, 6-2. This should prove to be a cracking match between two baseline bullies.
Verdict: Swiatek to win in three at 3/1- Swiatek leads the head-to-head 2-1. Both of Swiatek’s victories have come this year (which should encourage the Pole).
This is an extremely tough one to call. I backed Pegula in my US Open preview. And she has done very little to alter my impression of her. But Swiatek seems to have rediscovered a bit of that aura of invincibility that she carried for so long.
Pegula will obviously enjoy thunderous home support (especially with Swiatek developing a slight reputation for subtle acts of villainy). But I still think the Pole will persevere in this match. She is starting to strike the ball really crisply and her footwork looks back to its best.
