In the opening set of her third-round match against Elise Mertens on Friday, Coco Gauff looked fallible, frustrated and like she would be finished early, nothing like she had earlier this week at the U.S. Open.
Mertens, a 27-year-old Belgian, was playing loosely and aggressively, while the 19-year-old American superstar made error after error on just about every stroke. Gauff, usually possessing preternatural emotional maturity and composure, showed frustration throughout the early part of the match, uncharacteristically yelling out angrily after a double fault in the first set, which Mertens won 6-3.
It was suddenly easy to imagine Gauff’s run at the U.