Coco Gauff has reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open without losing a set, securing her place among the final eight women’s singles players after defeating Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. This marks Gauff's return to the quarterfinals after not advancing past the fourth round in her last two U.S. Open appearances. She will next face the No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva.
In her post-match comments, Gauff expressed her familiarity with the quarterfinal stage, stating, "I feel like I’m at the point where I’m used to being in this position. I’m constantly putting myself in quarterfinals, so the moment doesn’t seem as big anymore."
At 22 years old, Gauff is the youngest American woman to reach three major quarterfinals in one year since Serena Williams in 2003. She is tied with Kim Clijsters for the third-most Grand Slam quarterfinals (12) before the age of 23, trailing only Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Gauff's victory over Jovic extended her winning streak on the WTA Tour to 10 matches and marked her 19th consecutive set won. She last dropped a set in the second round of the Cincinnati tournament prior to the U.S. Open.
The match began with Gauff being broken in the opening game but quickly recovered, winning six consecutive games to take the first set in under 35 minutes. In the second set, Jovic put up a stronger fight, but Gauff managed to break her serve for a 3-2 lead.
Gauff attributed her current confidence to her ability to adapt her strategies during matches, saying, "I think just my nervous system and knowing that even when the pressure is there, I’m able to rely on a lot of different things to win points in many different ways."
She emphasized the importance of playing without regrets, stating, "I think the biggest difference I’ve been playing is just trying to play with no regrets, and I think I have a lot more fun and success playing like this."