NEW YORK — That’s about all you need to know about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Sunday: Gauff finished with more double faults, 19, than winners, 14.
It’s the latest in a string of early exits for her in recent weeks, including a third-round exit at the Paris Olympics and then a double in the hard-court warm-up events before arriving in New York.
“I feel like there are 70 other players in the draw who would love to have the summer I had, even if it’s [the] at least, probably, [I’ve] “She’s played well at this time of year,” said Gauff, the No. 3 seed who went 18-1 on her North American hard-court tour 12 months ago, including her run to her first Grand Slam title. “So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to be in the Olympics. So many people want to be the flag bearer. It’s a matter of perspective.”
The 20-year-old from Florida managed to get back into the match with a four-game run in which she won 14 of 17 points and took the second set.
“I had a little lull,” said No. 13 seed Navarro, an American who was 0-2 at the U.S. Open until this year, “but I was able to pull myself together.”
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After each of her previous two matches in New York, Gauff returned to the practice courts to work on her serve. That didn’t help her much on Sunday, when she tied her career high in double faults; she also had 19 in a loss at the 2020 French Open. Against Navarro, Gauff double faulted three times in four different games. Eleven of those double faults came in the final set alone.
Gauff attributed her struggles to a mix of issues with her mechanics — “I fall to my left side a lot on my serve, and that’s something I’m aware of, but it’s hard in the moment, I guess, to try not to,” she explained — and in her mind.
“It’s more about emotions and mentality sometimes, because if I practice on the court right now, I can serve 30 times in a row. I’ve done that before,” Gauff said. “I think it’s also kind of a mental hurdle that I have to overcome when that happens. … But I definitely want to focus on other things, because I don’t want to lose matches like this anymore.”
She finished with a total of 60 unforced errors, including 29 on her forehand.
Navarro, 23, who also knocked out Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, was much more consistent on Sunday, although she made 35 unforced errors.
“It was a bit of a battle of wills for a while. But I’m proud of my effort today,” said Navarro, Gauff’s American teammate at the Paris Games. “I was able to hold on through the tough times.”
The result follows defending champion Novak Djokovic’s third-round defeat on Friday, meaning the long drought without a consecutive title in New York will continue. The last woman to win at least two consecutive titles was Serena Williams with three from 2012 to 2014; the last man to do so was Roger Federer with five from 2004 to 2008.
The Wimbledon win over Gauff gave Navarro, the 2021 NCAA singles champion for the University of Virginia, her first major quarterfinal appearance. Her second match will be Tuesday in New York against No. 26 Paula Badosa, who beat Wang Yafan 6-1, 6-2. The other women’s match of the day will be No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka — she was a finalist to Gauff last year and beat Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday — and either No. 7 Qinwen Zheng or No. 24 Donna Vekic.
The quarterfinals will give Navarro another chance to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium in front of a capacity crowd. She had never hit a ball there before Sunday and felt pretty comfortable anyway.
“I’ve played on big courts before where I felt completely overwhelmed and almost like it was an out-of-body experience. But that wasn’t the case today,” Navarro said. “I felt comfortable from the moment I stepped on the court, which surprised me a little bit. I kind of prepared myself for the worst, just in terms of feeling overwhelmed and nervous.”
She didn’t act that way.
Gauff was the one who couldn’t give her best.
“I expected better, but in the end it happened,” Gauff said, “and I know I can turn it around.”
