"Coco Gauff is crazy overrated";"Talk about giving away a match, embarrassing" - Fans react as Emma Navarro stuns defending champion in US Open 4R
Coco Gauff's hopes of a successful title defense at the 2024 US Open have gone up in smoke as fellow American Emma Navarro knocked the 20-year-old out of the Major. Given Gauff's underwhelming performance in the clash, fans have expressed their frustration at her display.
Months after upsetting Gauff in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships, Navarro proved that her previous win was not a fluke by claiming a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over the 20-year-old in the fourth round of the US Open. The World No. 12 ended her compatriot's title defense in remarkable fashion and booked her place in her second Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Coco Gauff's loss was compounded by her staggering 60 unforced errors. her serving woes were evident in her 19 double faults, 11 of which came in the crucial deciding set.
Several fans criticized the 20-year-old for her "embarrassing" serving performance, lambasting her for gifting the match to Emma Navarro with her double faults.
"Cringeworthy serving performance from Coco. Good lord that was brutal. Edit: 11 double faults in the 3rd set yikes," one fan wrote.
"She should put more effort into working on her serves rather than spending all the time on TikTok. This is very embarrassing," another fan chimed in.
"Talk about giving away a match. That was embarrassing," said another.
With the World No. 3 set to drop out of the top 5 of the WTA rankings after the conclusion of the New York Major, fans argued that she had been "overrated" and hoped that the loss would serve as a "reality check" about her level.
"Coco Gauff is crazy overrated," one fan commented.
"Feel for Coco? She's ranked far above her game. Hopefully this serves as a reality check," another fan contended.
"How did Gauff win a slam," a fan remarked.
Others, meanwhile, suggested that Coco Gauff should "fire" her coach Brad Gilbert and urged her to find somebody who could improve her serve.
"I really hope Coco fires Brad Gilbert immediately. Her game & mentality have gotten a thousand times worse under his tenure. It’s become clear as daylight that Pere Riba was responsible for all the success of last year. It’s been a downward spiral since his mysterious departure," one fan posted.
"Coco should think about changes in her team. All u could hear from the box was "let's go Coco, u can do it, u'r the champ, let's go Coco". It's not enough in so tight match, especially when Coco was strugling with serve. Congrats to Emma. She did really well and took her chances," another fan wrote.
"Well, not as catastrophic a US open as some were predicting at least. Now fire BG and go work on your serve Coco," said yet another.
Andy Roddick accurately predicted Coco Gauff's US Open 4R exit & Emma Navarro's QF berth
While sharing his analysis of the women's draw before the commencement of the 2024 US Open, Andy Roddick raised concerns about Coco Gauff's form heading into her title defense.
Although the former World No. 1 incorrectly predicted that Gauff would lose to Elina Svitolina, he was accurate in his assessment that the 20-year-old would not reach the quarterfinals of the New York Major.
"This next one, I don’t like doing it. All cards on the table, I have a bias towards Coco Gauff but I still have to try to be objective. I like Svitolina to round three, I like Coco to round three, I think I like Svitolina to round four," he said on his 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast.
"I’d love to be wrong. Again, I value current form and Coco is searching. She would probably tell you she’s searching. I haven’t talked to Brad in a month but I gotta think they know that. I don’t know if I can put Coco through to the quarters," he added.
Roddick was also correct in forecasting that Emma Navarro would advance to the final eight from their quarter of the draw.
"Great players go through stages where they’re searching for it. When she is searching for it specifically, how you approach going after her game is pretty straightforward if she’s not on. So, I don’t think she’s going to make the quarters, I’m going Navarro through that quarter," he added.
With a spot in her maiden Grand Slam semifinal on the line, Navarro will take on the in-form Paula Badosa after her win over Coco Gauff. Badosa claimed a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Wang Yafan to advance to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows.