If Stefanos Tsitsipas’ journey at the 2026 US Open is best compared to Odysseus’ epic voyage from Troy to Ithaca, then perhaps Coco Gauff’s fourth round tussle with teenager rising star Iva Jovic is best compared with Philippides’ journey from Marathon to Athens.
While the 22-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, stopped short of collapsing to the ground and declaring, “rejoice, we conquer” after her latest triumph in New York, she did admit to some exhaustion during her post-match interview.
“Honestly, there was one game where I felt like I was running a marathon,” declared the World No. 4. “That was probably the first time I was out of breath on court in a long time.”
Unlike Philippides, who famously collapsed and died upon completing his journey – later inspiring the creation of the marathon distance in modern athletics – Gauff stood confident and composed following one hour and 33 minutes of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Covering an estimated distance of 1.5 kilometres (slightly less than one mile) over 17 games across two sets of tennis, she increased of her streak of straight set wins to an impressive nine matches, besting Jovic, 6-1, 6-4, on Monday (7 September).
In a match that featured multiple rallies surpassing 15 shots, Gauff won the longest at 24 shots, earning a key break early in the second set – a theme present throughout the match, which saw the highest seeded North American player pushed to her physical limits.
Asked if that was the highest level of tennis she’d played so far in Flushing Meadows by the on-court interviewer, the 2023 US Open women’s singles champion responded, “I think the one against Paula [Badosa] was pretty good too.”
“Definitely out of the four, I think these are the top two,” she added. “I thought I served really well.”
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Gauff looks forward to future battles with Jovic
Monday’s (7 September) tussle was only the second head-to-head meeting between two of women’s tennis’ brightest young stars in the United States.
Gauff, the higher seeded of the two, entered the match with hopes of advancing past the fourth found in New York for the first time since 2023, while Jovic sought to extend her deepest run at the hard court Grand Slam in front of an energized home crowd.
Striking first, the 18-year-old from California broke the No. 4 seed in the very first game of the match, winning a pair of 16-shot rallies that set the tone in what was to be a battle of youthful attrition in the Big Apple.
If anything, however, Jovic had only poked a sleeping bear, as Gauff awoke and broke back not once, not twice, but three times to speed run the first set at 6–1. But Jovic wasn’t going down without a few key points to add to her own highlight reel.
Holding tough through four games, she finally gave up a fourth break point to put Gauff in the driver’s seat at 3-2, And while they’d trade breaks in the back half of the set, the more experienced Floridian was just too strong offensively.
Racking up two aces, winning 73 percent of points at the net, 68 percent of first-serve points and 56 percent of return points – all while giving away only two double faults – she produced some of her best tennis to see out the match.
“Iva’s an incredible player, an incredible talent,” she said, giving the home crowd a chance to show their support for the teenage rising star.
“I’ve been in a similar position as her, so I’m looking forward to many more battles out here,” she added. “I’m sure we’ll be playing a lot more matches in the future,” she prophesied shortly after those remarks, asking the crowd to show their support once more.
Analysing the teenager’s game, Gauff highlighted Jovic’s return capabilities as particularly dangerous to those hoping for an easy draw against a player still learning the ropes.
“Iva’s a great returner,” she cautioned. “She’s known to break people a lot. So I was not too frustrated when I got broken.
Honestly, the last game was a big improvement. I needed that, because against Paula, I was up 5-4 serving for it and it got away, so I’m glad that I was able to learn from that experience.”
Moving onwards at Flushing Meadows, she’ll face Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday, 9 September.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/2026-us-open-coco-gauff-marathon-tennis-duel-iva-jovic
