Emma Navarro Ends Coco Gauff’s US Open Title Defense in Fourth Round

Defending champion Coco Gauff was defeated by Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Sunday, with a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Gauff's performance was marred by 19 double-faults, surpassing her 14 winners in the match.

Gauff, seeded No. 3, had previously won 10 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows, including her run to the 2023 Grand Slam title. However, despite winning four of those matches after losing the opening set, including the 2023 final and her third-round victory on Friday, the 20-year-old from Florida was unable to mount a comeback this time. A four-game run in the second set, where she claimed 14 of 17 points, was not enough to secure a victory in the deciding set.

"Had a little bit of a lull there," said Navarro, the 13th seed and an American, who had a 0-2 record at the U.S. Open until this year. "But I was able to regroup ... and come into the third set with a fresher mindset."

Gauff had returned to the practice courts after each of her previous matches in New York to work on her serve, but the efforts did not pay off on Sunday. She matched her career high for double-faults, with 19, equaling a previous record from a loss at the 2020 French Open. Against Navarro, Gauff committed three double-faults in three different games, two of which she lost, at 1-all in both the first and third sets. Eleven of the double-faults came in the final set alone.

In addition to her serving woes, Gauff accumulated 60 unforced errors, with 29 coming from her forehand, a known weakness in her game. Navarro, who had eliminated Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, was more consistent, finishing with 35 unforced errors.

"Coco's an amazing player, and I have a ton of respect for her," Navarro said. "I know she's going to come back and win this thing again one year."

This defeat for Gauff follows the surprising third-round exit of defending men's champion Novak Djokovic on Friday, ensuring that the streak of no consecutive title winners at the U.S. Open will continue. The last woman to win back-to-back titles in New York was Serena Williams, who won three straight from 2012 to 2014. The last man to achieve this was Roger Federer, who won five consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008.

Navarro, the 2021 NCAA singles champion from the University of Virginia, reached her first major quarterfinal after her Wimbledon win over Gauff. Her second will be on Tuesday in New York, where she will face No. 26 Paula Badosa, who defeated Wang Yafan 6-1, 6-2.

Earlier on Sunday, No. 9 men's seed Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, with 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams watching from the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Rublev, the No. 6 seed, is known for his emotional displays on the court and required medical attention after injuring his left hand by hitting it against his racket during the first set. He also exhibited frustration during the second-set tiebreaker, where he lost six consecutive points after leading 3-1.

Dimitrov will next face the winner of the match between No. 20 Frances Tiafoe and No. 28 Alexei Popyrin, who upset Djokovic on Friday.

On Saturday, No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz also progressed to the quarterfinals, defeating three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Fritz's next opponent will be either another American, Brandon Nakashima, or the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Alexander Zverev from Germany.

"I'm at the point now where I'm still happy to make quarterfinals, but I wouldn't be happy with it ending here," said Fritz, who has yet to reach a Grand Slam semifinal. "I definitely am at the point where I really want more than that."