American Coco Gauff put her serving issues behind her as she produced an impressive performance to beat Magdalena Frech and reach the US Open fourth round.
Gauff broke down in tears as she struggled to a second-round win over Donna Vekic on Thursday, but the third seed looked confident and sharp as she won 6-3 6-1 against Poland’s Frech.
The 21-year-old is continuing to adapt to a new serving technique introduced by biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who was hired after Gauff committed 16 double faults in her Cincinnati Masters defeat by Jasmine Paolini earlier this month.
After an emotional first week at her home Grand Slam in New York, the crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium appeared to carry Gauff during the occasional nervy moments that threatened to derail a straightforward victory.
“The support means a lot, I can’t put into words the privilege I feel to walk on to this court and have the support of all you guys,” said Gauff, who won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2023.
“Everyone who is involved here, even janitors – having someone say they are rooting for you every five steps as I walk into this place means a lot to me.
“It’s been an emotional week, I think I needed those tough moments to be able to move forward.
“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. I think today showed I was really having fun out there.”
Gauff raced into an early 3-0 lead in the first set, before she double-faulted on break point in the fifth game as Frech clawed her way back to 3-3.
That wobble could have turned into a nosedive, but Gauff composed herself and won the next three games to wrap up the set in 43 minutes.
After making 79% of her first serves in the opening set, Gauff continued to build confidence in the second.
The two-time Grand Slam champion hit serves of 111mph and 113mph as she continued to improve her speeds from earlier in the tournament, and made just two double faults after making 18 in her first and second-round matches combined.
Gauff broke twice more in the second set to build a commanding lead, before breaking for a third time to secure her place in the next round.
She will face either 15th seed Daria Kasatkina or two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka in the last 16.
Meanwhile, 11th seed Karolina Muchova came from a set down to defeat Linda Noskova 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2.
Back-to-back breaks at the end of the first set resulted in Noskova winning a tie-break, but mistakes cost the Czech player as she committed 15 double faults.
Muchova overpowered her compatriot to set up a last-16 meeting with either Diane Parry or 27th seed Marta Kostyuk.
