By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Coco Gauff shook off the nerves that had rattled her during her opening two matches at the U.S. Open as she cruised into the fourth round on Saturday, while men’s 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti advanced after compatriot Flavio Cobolli retired injured.
Gauff struggled with errors and double faults in her first two rounds at Flushing Meadows but the American third seed hit her stride in the early match on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, where she subdued the Polish 28th seed Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-1.
“It’s been an emotional week,” said Gauff, who showed solid improvement in her serve with four double faults compared to 18 across her first two matches.
“Today showed I was really having fun out there.”
She will next play Australian 15th seed Daria Kasatkina or twice former champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.
A third-round battle between long-time Italian friends ended in disappointment as Cobolli cut short his tussle with Musetti while trailing 6-3 6-2 2-0 due to arm issues.
Venus Williams will be back on court later on Saturday for her second-round women’s doubles match with Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez.
The age-defying 45-year-old Williams packed the house for her mixed doubles and singles appearances at the tournament and can expect throngs of her devoted fans again for the match against Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri and Japan’s Eri Hozumi.
Poland’s second seed Iga Swiatek headlines the night session on Ashe, where the 29th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya will hope to disrupt the Wimbledon champion’s terrific season.
Kalinskaya beat Swiatek on the Dubai hardcourts in 2024 and reached the Washington final earlier this year but faces long odds against the dominant six-time major winner.
The pressure will be on American 14th seed Tommy Paul when he faces 23rd seed Alexander Bublik in the final match on Ashe, after two of his compatriots – Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe – exited the tournament on Friday.
The Americans hoped to end a 22-year men’s drought at their domestic major but only fourth seed Taylor Fritz has punched his ticket for the round of 16 so far.
Third-ranked German Alexander Zverev will continue his quest for a maiden major when he plays the Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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