WHAT HAPPENED: That was more like it.
Coco Gauff cruised at the 2025 US Open on Saturday, beating 28th seed Magdalena Frech of Poland, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the fourth round of her home major championship for the fourth consecutive year.
Inside an adoring Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff was in charge from the start, skipping the mid-match tears and serving troubles that dominated her second-round contest in New York.
Gauff broke five times and landed 76% of her first serves. Most notably, the 2023 US Open champion dropped her serve only once and donated just four double faults, half of her second-round tally.
“I thought today I played well. It was tough playing two night matches and then having to play with the shade on that side. It was kind of hard to see the ball,” Gauff said. “But overall I'm really happy with how I played and to be through to the next round.”
Gauff will next face the winner of two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka, the 23rd seed, and 15th-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Australia, for a place in the quarterfinals.
WHAT IT MEANS: No matter who greets Gauff in the second week, the 21-year-old American is relieved to be through to at least the fourth round at a major championship for the third time this year.
Gauff, who lost her first-round match at Wimbledon, is undergoing well-documented changes to her serve this fortnight. Days before the US Open started, she brought on biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who previously helped defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka solidify her serve.
Those changes to her game, and having to adapt to them in the biggest tournament of her year, have made Gauff feel even more pressure than usual at her home Grand Slam.
“It’s been an emotional week,” Gauff said. “But I think I needed those tough moments to be able to move forward, and I was putting so much pressure on myself. But I'm really out here just trying to enjoy it and not focus so much on results but the process. And I think today it showed that I was really having fun out there.”
Gauff broke twice in the first set and served out the opener when Frech sailed a forehand long. In the second set, the American broke three more times en route to the 73-minute victory.
Gauff also leaned into what works for perhaps the fittest player on the WTA: She made it a physical contest, extending the rallies and making Frech hit another ball. Of the 25 rallies that lasted nine-plus shots, Gauff won nearly 75% of them.
MATCH POINT: Since 2000, only Maria Sharapova (85) has Grand Slam match wins than Gauff (74) while aged 21 or under.
