US Open Day 3 highlights: Coco Gauff cruises, but title defense is about to get to….see more

US Open Day 3 highlights: Coco Gauff cruises, but title defense is about to get tougher

Now the work really begins for Coco Gauff.

The 20-year-old defending US Open champion has taken the stance that there was more pressure on her last year to win this title, when she was playing the best tennis on the women’s tour, as opposed to this summer, when her game has been slightly off.

“I really have nothing to lose,” Gauff said in her on-court interview Wednesday after beating Tatjana Maria of Germany. “I am 20 years old, I have one under my belt and I have the potential to do more whether it happens this year or in the future.”

It’s hard to know whether Gauff has found her form in New York because the opposition through two rounds has been favorable. Despite playing scratchy tennis for much of the first set, Gauff managed to take it from Maria and then play more freely after that for a 6-4, 6-0 victory.

But things get a lot tougher starting now. In the third round, the third-ranked Gauff will face No. 27 seed Elina Svitolina, who has made a US Open semifinal and quarterfinal in her last three appearances here. Svitolina may not be quite as consistent these days as she was when she finished in the top five every year from 2017 to 2021, but her top level – and her ability to thrive in long rallies – has the potential to frustrate Gauff.

The two have only played twice, but their meeting in January ended with Gauff taking a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory in a 2-hour, 23-minute Auckland final.

Here’s everything else you missed from Day 3 at the US Open:

Match of the day
Andrey Rublev, who often overheats emotionally, was calm this time. It was his body temperature that was the problem.

On the most brutal day of the US Open, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, Rublev had tried everything from ice packs and cold air hoses to stay cool. By the time he was on the verge of winning the match – having fought from two sets down – he needed to see medical personnel and was complaining of stomach problems.