US Open: Coco Gauff defeats Elise Mertens, moves to next round
Sep 02, 2023
New York [US], September 2 : No.6 seed Coco Gauff defeated Belgium's Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the third round of the US Open on Saturday.
Gauff's victory marks her second successful comeback of the competition. She overcame a set down to overcome Laura Siegemund in the opening round.
On Sunday, Gauff will play Caroline Wozniacki, a former world number one, for a place in the quarterfinals.
"She's the type of player where she steps in, if you give her something short, especially on the backhand side..... Even on the forehand she was being aggressive," Gauff said about her opponent’s performance, according to WTA website.
"I think in the second I tried to keep her playing back and off her back foot, also coming in a little bit more so she knew I wasn't going to stay back every time she was playing defense," she added.
Mertens' first set performance benefited from accuracy and execution. However, she did not last long.
She committed only eight unforced errors in the opening set but a total of 31 for the rest of the match. After 2 hours and 4 minutes, Gauff ended the match by winning the final eight games. Gauff finished the game with 33 victories and 25 unforced mistakes.
