Coco Gauff already knew Iva Jovic could make her suffer. Jovic pushed her hard in Rome in May, and she did it again in New York. Gauff finally returned to the US Open quarterfinals three years after winning the title, beating the 18-year-old 6-1, 6-4. The score says routine. The match said otherwise. Jovic made Gauff grind for a 6-1, 6-4 win, and Coco basically admitted afterward that the 18-year-old is already exhausting to play.
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When asked about how she felt after the straight-sets win, Coco Gauff said, “Eva’s an incredible player and incredible talent… And honestly, there was one game where I felt like I was running a marathon… That was probably the first time I was out of breath on court in a long time.”
Going into the game, Gauff led the head-to-head 1-0, and it showed. She looked in complete control against Iva Jovic, but the teenager refused to make things easy for the World No. 4. The 2023 champion raced through the first set 6-1, winning six straight games after dropping her opening service game.
Jovic struggled to find answers as Gauff kept moving her around and winning points from every position. But Arthur Ashe saw a different Jovic in the 2nd set, one who kept fighting even when Gauff appeared ready to pull away.
Gauff broke first, but Jovic immediately responded and brought the set back to 3-3. One game in particular seemed to go on forever, with Jovic refusing to give Gauff anything.
Gauff had 2 break chances in the 3rd game of the 2nd set, but Jovic saved both and somehow held on to win the game.
And even in their meeting in Rome, Gauff beat her 2-1, but Jovic pushed Gauff in all 3 sets. Jovic won the first set after breaking Gauff twice. In the 2nd set, they went back and forth with Jovic breaking twice and Gauff breaking thrice.
That only made Gauff’s eventual finish more impressive as she found another gear when needed. She broke Jovic at 5-4 and then served out to win the match. Gauff has now won 10 straight matches and reached her 12th Grand Slam quarterfinal.
With the win, Gauff became the youngest American woman to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals in the same season. And with 10 straight wins behind her, another semifinal run suddenly feels well within reach.
Could Mirra Andreeva put a stop to Coco Gauff’s dominant run?
On paper, Coco Gauff has almost everything going for her against Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. Gauff leads their rivalry 5-0, winning every meeting they have played so far. She also reached the quarterfinals after beating Iva Jovic in convincing fashion.
Andreeva, meanwhile, needed 3 sets against Anastasia Potapova before reaching her first US Open quarterfinal.
But there is one detail that makes this meeting far more interesting than their record suggests. Gauff and Andreeva have played only once on hard courts, with Gauff winning 6-3, 6-2 in the 2023 US Open.
Their other four meetings came on clay, including two battles in Rome, one in Madrid, and their first-ever meeting at the 2023 French Open. That means four of their five previous clashes were played on clay, while their only hard-court meeting came at the 2023 US Open, making their New York matchup a slightly different test.
Andreeva’s best chance could begin by putting pressure on Gauff’s second serve from the opening game.
In Rome, Andreeva won 61.5% of Gauff’s second-serve points during their 3-set battle. She can then change direction instead of allowing Gauff to settle into comfortable rallies. That could force Gauff to move around the court more, and Andreeva can look for her opening.
We already saw glimpses of this approach during their Rome quarterfinal. Andreeva won the opening set 6-4 before Gauff changed the match and eventually won 6-2, 6-4.
Against Potapova, Andreeva also recovered after losing the first set, showing she can adjust under pressure. This time, she will need those adjustments much earlier because Gauff has looked settled throughout this US Open run.
Still, Gauff enters with the advantage, while Andreeva arrives knowing this matchup can go against her very quickly. The Russian has already won the French Open this year and reached another major quarterfinal.
Now, she gets another chance against the player who has always stopped her. But things maybe end differently this time.