American sixth seed Coco Gauff has bolstered her hopes of securing a maiden Grand Slam title, with a stress-free 6-0 6-2 win over Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko to reach the US Open semi-finals.
Gauff, whose lead-up to the US Open included hardcourt titles at Washington and Cincinnati, converted six of her seven breakpoints and dropped serve just once during the 67-minute match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Ostapenko entered the match full of confidence, after upsetting world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the previous round, but against Gauff, the misfiring Latvian 20th seed could not find her range and delivered an error-filled performance.
Gauff was in control from the start and showcased excellent court coverage, while delivering a steady stream of balls deep into the corners, en route to capturing the first set in 20 minutes and limiting Ostapenko to seven points.
Playing in her first US Open quarter-final, former French Open champion Ostapenko finally got on the board with a break to level the second set at 1-1, but Gauff, 19, never wavered, as she broke right back and cruised home.
The American went up a double break for a 5-2 lead, before closing out the match on her serve, after falling behind 0-30.
With the win, Gauff avenged her round-of-16 loss to the Latvian at this year's Australian Open that left the American in tears.
Up next for Gauff, who is the youngest American to reach the US Open semi-finals since Serena Williams in 2001, will be either Czech 10th seed and French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, or Romanian 30th seed Sorana Cirstea.
Reuters
