Coco Gauff's projected path to US Open 2024 final

The defending champion has struggled for form in the past six months.

Coco Gauff will enter the US Open 2024 as the reigning champion having defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final last year. Undoubtedly one of the top contenders for the title, Gauff will desperately hope for a change in fortunes given her disappointing turnouts since the French Open this year.

At Wimbledon, Gauff lost in the initial rounds to continue her poor record on grass. At the Paris Olympics, the American participated in three different events and suffered defeats in all of them. Many expected her arrival on hard court to bring out the best in her.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for the 20-year-old as she lost the Canadian Masters and Cincinnati Open in the second and first round respectively. There will be a lot of expectations on the young Americans’ shoulders and with the crowd rooting for her all the way, the question is if she will be able to defend her title and make it two-in-two.

Coco Gauff’s projected path to US Open 2024 final

First Round: Varvara Gracheva

Gauff’s title defense will begin with her clash against 66th seed Varvara Gracheva. The 24-year-old had a decent run at the Cincinnati Open where she reached the round of 16, before losing to current world #1 Iga Swiatek.

Gracheva and Gauff have contested each other only once before, at the ASB Classic which witnessed an easy win for the American. Despite her poor recent form, Gauff is expected to emerge victorious.

Second Round: Tatjana Maria

Tatjana Maria is likely to be Gauff’s second round opponent at US Open 2024. The German though, enters the slam on the back of several first round exits. The duo has clashed just once, and Gauff won the match. While the 37-year-old Maria will hope to use her experience and challenge the American, Gauff should breeze through her second round and advance to the third.

Third round: Elina Svitolina

The first big challenge for Coco Gauff will be in the form of Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. This third-round clash promises to be an exciting one, with plenty of talent on both sides. The 29th seed had a decent run at the Wimbledon, reaching the semis where she was beaten by Elena Rybakina. She then competed at the Cincinnati Open where she lost to Sabalenka in the round of 16.

The pair always dish out interesting match-ups when they meet. The Ukrainian won the first set against the American when they met earlier this year, however conceded the next two. Their overall head-to-head is 1-1 with Svitolina’s only win against the American coming back in 2021.

Svitolina’s recent Grand Slam records certainly suggest that she is capable of making her way through to the crucial stages and will hope to make the defending champion toil hard. Despite these possibilities, the American is expected to get through, albeit not without being tested by the Ukrainian.

Fourth round: Emma Novarro/Marta Kostyuk

The women’s singles fourth round could probably witness an all American clash as Emma Novarro is the frontrunner and most likely to face Gauff. Novarro had a fine Canadian Open, bowing out in the semis. However, disappointment followed at the Cincinnati Masters.

If the duo come up against each other at the US Open, Gauff will hope to avenge her Wimbledon loss when her fellow American compatriot had knocked her out of the grass court championship comfortably, in straight sets. Their overall head-to-head is 1-1.

Gauff could also face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round if the 19th seed manages to make her way through the 13th seed Novarro. The Ukrainian defeated 2024 Wimbledon Kiwi sensation, Lulu Sun at the Canadian Open and took down fellow Ukraine compatriot Svitolina at the Canadian Masters. Although, the head-to-head is 2-1 in favor of the American, the Ukrainian had beaten the American earlier this year at the Stuttgart Open.

Quarter-final: Barbora Krejcikova

The 2024 Wimbledon winner is likely to be Gauff’s quarter-final opponent at the 224 US Open. The Czech has been in excellent form recently, both in women’s singles and doubles. Krejcikova’s remarkable defense coupled with athleticism on court has made everyone take notice. However, most of her exceptional performances have come on grass/court. Her record on hard courts isn’t the greatest.

Gauff will certainly find her quarter-final clash the most challenging one and should she get the better of her Czech opponent, it will put the American in good stead to go all the way and defend her crown.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek’s projected path to US Open 2024 final

Also Read: Aryna Sabalenka’s projected path to US Open 2024 final

Semi-final: Aryna Sabalenka/Qinwen Zheng

Chances of a rematch of the 2023 US Open final is on the cards. A mouth-watering clash between the second and third seed awaits us all. Sabalenka is returning from injury and after a topsy-turvy Canadian Open, she announced her comeback in style at the Cincinnati Open, winning the trophy, defeating current number one Iga Swiatek on the way.

With the much-required game time under her belt, the Belarussian will prove to be a huge challenge for Gauff. The American though will look to gain inspiration from the 2023 final in which she prevailed eventually to win her first Grand Slam. These two last met at the Australian Open, wherein Gauff was beaten by the Belarusian in the semis.

However, one cannot rule out China’s Qinwen Zheng who recently won women’s singles gold at Paris Olympics 2024. The Chinese is high on confidence and is likely to play Sabalenka in the quarterfinals and Sabalenka will be vary of the Chinese threat.

Final: Iga Swiatek/Elena Rybakina

2022 US Open winner Iga Swiatek could face the defending champion at the US Open 2024 final. Whilst the route to final for Gauff is extremely difficult, considering her recent outings, it appears unlikely that the American will make it this far.

However she cannot be written off and wins against top seed like Krejcikova and Sabalenka would be an indicator that the 20-year-old is back to her best form. Swiatek will be entering the Slam on the back of a huge heartbreak at the Olympics, having failed to win the gold. She also lost to Sabalenka at the Cincinnati semifinals.

The number one seed boasts off a superb record on clay but has just a solitary title elsewhere. Her stats and records on grass and hard courts are not very encouraging and Gauff will look to build on the same.

The hard hitting Elena Rybakina though, could surprise the Polish by beating her in the semis. One of these two stars are expected to advance to the final, trying to prevent Coco Gauff from sealing back-to-back US Open titles.

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