Coco Gauff loses US Open crown as star exodus continues
Al Jazeera
Gauff lost to fellow American Emma Navarro in an error-laden performance but compatriot Frances Tiafoe kept up home hopes with a win over Alexei Popyrin.
Coco Gauff joined Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on the US Open scrapheap as the defending champion crashed out to Emma Navarro in a blizzard of mistakes.
As Gauff exited on Sunday, US hopes were then rekindled when Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz reached the men’s last-eight, igniting hopes of a first homegrown male Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick’s win in New York in 2003.
Third-ranked Gauff slumped to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, fourth-round defeat to her American teammate. She was her own worst enemy, however, especially on serve where she had 19 double faults – as many as she had in her first three matches combined – while she also made 60 unforced errors.
The 20-year-old’s exit means Serena Williams remains the last woman to successfully defend the US Open title back in 2014.
“I lost in the first round the last two years and now to be making the quarterfinals is pretty insane,” said Navarro, who will face Spain’s Paula Badosa for a place in the semifinals.
