Coco Gauff to face ‘legend’ Caroline Wozniacki at US Open after latest fightback, Elena Rybakina suffers shock exit

Updated 02/09/2023 at 08:01 GMT

Coco Gauff earned a match-up with "legend" Caroline Wozniacki in the US Open fourth round after again coming from a set down to win. The sixth seed defeated Elise Mertens to continue her bid for a first Grand Slam title and was encouraged to make it through a match she "could have lost in the past." Fourth seed Elena Rybakina crashed out to Sorana Cirstea in a major shock.

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Coco Gauff continued her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title by beating Elise Mertens at the US Open, but fourth seed Elena Rybakina fell to a shock defeat.

Gauff bounced back from dropping the opening set to beat the No. 32 seed 3-6 6-3 6-0 in a two-hour Arthur Ashe Stadium battle.

It was the American’s second comeback win of the tournament, after recovering to beat Laura Siegemund in the first round.

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“It does a lot for me,” Gauff said in a press conference. “I think maybe that could have been a match that I could have lost in the past, especially breaking her, then immediately getting broken back.

“I'm figuring out these situations, making it easier and easier as the matches go. I think she played some of her best tennis she's played this season, especially in the first two sets.

“When I'm playing not my best, [I’m] still able to figure out how to win these matches. It's good.”

The result earned the sixth seed an intriguing match-up with former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

The Dane’s remarkable return to tennis from retirement continued with a win over Jennifer Brady on Friday, sending the 33-year-old into her first fourth round at a major since 2018.

“It's going to be interesting. I never thought I would ever be in this position, especially after she retired and came back,” said Gauff.

“She's still a really fit player. She looked like she was striking the ball today pretty clean, especially after I was watching her match the last couple sets against Jenny [Brady].

“It's not going to be an easy match-up. I think she probably knows my game pretty well. I don't know if she commentated on any of my matches. I know she's watched tennis even when she was retired. I'm sure she knows my game just from watching.

“I know a little bit of her just from watching her from growing up. It's going to be really cool. I'm really excited. Playing a legend like her is really exciting. I'm not going to take the moment for granted.”

Gauff was one of the form players on tour heading into the US Open and the 19-year-old is bidding to win her first Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

USA's Coco Gauff reacts during her US Open tennis tournament women's singles third round match against Belgium's Elise Mertens at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 1, 2023.

Image credit: Getty Images

She served six aces and landed 30 winners against Mertens, while keeping her unforced error count to 24 compared to the Belgian’s 38, but a 34% success rate of points won on second serve was one area for improvement.

There was a major shock elsewhere in the women’s draw on Friday as former Wimbledon champion and No. 4 seed Rybakina fell to defeat against Sorana Cirstea.

The Romanian, seeded 30th, won 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the first time.

“I'm very, very happy with the win today,” said Cirstea.

“I’ve lost twice against her before, and she’s a very good player, No. 4 in the world, and I knew it [was] going to be a tough battle. But I'm just so happy to win this one. It’s a great moment for me.”

Cirstea will face No. 15 seed Belinda Bencic next for a place in the quarter-finals.

For Rybakina, the defeat ends a disappointing year in Grand Slams; the Kazakh was a runner-up at the Australian Open in January but lost in the third round at Roland-Garros and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.

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