NEW YORK: Coco Gauff said losing in the US Open semifinal is a big setback and even told her father, Corey, that she “didn’t care” about “so many great things she accomplished this summer.” The 22-year-old American saw her title hopes end with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Elena Rybakina on Thursday, despite taking the opening set at Flushing Meadows.
Gauff has now lost two Grand Slam semifinals in a row, as she was also previously defeated by Karolina Muchova in her maiden Wimbledon semifinal.Following the Wimbledon setback, the American also suffered defeat in the last-four stage in Toronto and won the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. She then ended her summer with another semifinal appearance at Flushing Meadows.Following the defeat, the two-time Grand Slam champion said that her father tried to offer some perspective, but she wasn’t ready to hear it at the time.
“Right now it sucks. My dad came up and was like ‘You accomplished so many great things this summer.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t care about the summer,’” the 22-year-old shared afterwards. Gauff wants to win the US Open at any cost as it is her home Slam. “Right now that’s where my head is at. It’s the goal. I want to be a consistent player. I want to give myself as many opportunities to lift the trophy. But yeah it hurts. It’s all great, but I think the competitor in me...” the American tennis star added. “This is the tournament I want to perform at. I did perform, but this is the one where you want to come out with the win. But it’s definitely a learning experience. I hope to continue to keep putting myself in positions to hopefully win.”
