Coco Gauff comes back at the US Open and beats Elina Svitolina. Emma Navarro is next

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff was not aware that she'd lost five consecutive matches against opponents ranked in the top 50. She was not sure exactly how many points in a row she'd dropped — 11, it turns out — to give away the first set against Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Open’s third round on Friday.

Here, then, is what was entirely clear to Gauff at that moment: “I needed a reset.” So before the second set, the 20-year-old from Florida went to the bathroom, changed part of her outfit and splashed water on her face. Then Gauff went back on court and extended the defense of her first Grand Slam title by turning things around to beat the 27th-seeded Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

“Felt like a new person coming out,” the third-seeded Gauff said. “I just didn’t want to leave the court with any regrets.”

Novak Djokovic, the other defending champion, was shocked in the third round with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin. Popyrin will face No. 20 seed France Tiafoe, who outlasted 13th-seeded Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 across 4 hours, 3 minutes to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the fifth consecutive year.

After making mistake after mistake early on at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff managed to reel off nine of 11 games in one stretch and won again despite losing the opening set, something she did three times en route to claiming the 2023 trophy at Flushing Meadows, including in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.

“It was in my mind today. It gave me a lot of confidence,” Gauff said, “just because it felt like déjà vu a little bit.”

On Sunday, Gauff will face No. 13 Emma Navarro, one of her teammates at the Paris Olympics, for a berth in the quarterfinals. Navarro eliminated Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon.

“I did a good job of neutralizing her serve and just playing really aggressive from the baseline and pushing back against her groundstrokes,” Navarro, who is from South Carolina and won an NCAA title for Virginia, said about that matchup last month. “And then always getting one more ball back in the court.”

Navarro advanced Friday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over No. 19 Marta Kostyuk. Other women's fourth-round matchups set up in the afternoon were No. 7 Zheng Qinwen vs. No. 24 Donna Vekic, and No. 26 Paula Badosa vs. Wang Yafan. No. 2 Sabalenka beat No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the latest-starting women's match in U.S. Open history and will face No. 33 Elise Mertens, who outlasted No. 14 Madison Keys in three sets.

The first men’s fourth-round pairing that was set up was No. 6 Andrey Rublev against No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov. No. 8 Casper Ruud will meet No. 12-seeded Taylor Fritz, and No. 4 Alexander Zverev advanced to take on American Brandon Nakashima after finishing his four-set victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry at 2:35 a.m.

Zheng-Vekic is a rematch of the gold medal match at the Summer Games four weeks ago; Zheng won that one.

Vekic beat Gauff in the third round at the Olympics, part of Gauff's recent drought against top-50 foes. That also was part of a recent slump that saw Gauff win just five of her previous nine matches.

Such a contrast to a year ago, when Gauff won 18 of 19, and 12 in a row, along the way to two tuneup titles on hard courts and then the championship at the U.S. Open that made her the first U.S. teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.

By the conclusion of one set against Svitolina, it seemed as if another loss might be in the offing. Gauff’s totals were 16 unforced errors — nine on backhands — and just seven winners. She put only 45% of her first serves in. She went 0 for 3 on break points. She allowed Svitolina to claim 19 of the 28 points that lasted more than four strokes.

All of those numbers got better across the last two sets as Gauff tried to be more aggressive with her forehands and be more careful with her backhands. And something else changed, at the behest of her coaches: Gauff got the partisan crowd more involved.

Svitolina said afterward she was bothered by an ankle injury picked up last week

“I feel like she started to go (for) more a little bit. But to be fair, I didn’t play the way that I wanted to play. ... Then she started to be more alive," said Svitolina, a three-time Slam semifinalist. "And, of course, the crowd was behind her."

Everything began to change for Gauff on Friday after 1 hour, 10 minutes, when she broke to lead 4-2 in the second set, smacking a cross-court forehand winner. She celebrated with a yell of “Come on!” and raised her left hand to wiggle her fingers and ask the spectators to get louder.

Soon that set belonged to Gauff, who closed it with a 94 mph ace, shook a fist and shouted.

In the third, with UConn women’s basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd sitting in her guest box at Ashe, Gauff broke right away, then held to go up 2-0 with the help of one 38-stroke point that she took when Svitolina sent a backhand wide.

Soon it was 5-1 for Gauff, whose only late wobble came when she served for the match at 5-2. She wasted three match points and got broken there. But Gauff broke right back to close things out.

“I’m glad that I had that match,” Gauff said, “because I think it just makes me match-tough and gets me ready, probably, for future challenges.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Grigor Dimitrov, of Bulgaria, reacts after defeating Tallon Griekspoor, of the Netherlands, during a third round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Andrey Rublev, of Russia, reacts after scoring a point against Jiri Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Taylor Fritz, of the United States, returns a shot to Francisco Comesana, of Argentina, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Taylor Fritz, of the United States, reacts after defeating Francisco Comesana, of Argentina, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Frances Tiafoe, of the United States, left, hugs Ben Shelton, of the United States, at the net after winning their third round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, motions to the crowd after defeating Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Frances Tiafoe, of the United States, reacts after defeating Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Paula Badosa, of Spain, reacts after defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse, of Romania, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, returns a shot to Wang Yafan, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Wang Yafan, of China, reacts after defeating Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, returns a shot to Emma Navarro, of the United States, Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, reacts after scoring a point against Emma Navarro, of the United States, Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Emma Navarro, of the United States, returns a shot to Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Emma Navarro, of the United States, reacts after defeating Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Emma Navarro, of the United States, returns a shot to Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, returns a shot to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts after defeating Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, motions to the crowd after defeating Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, motions to the crowd after defeating Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts after defeating Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, returns a shot to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, can't catch up with a shot from Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, adjusts her head band during a match against Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, reacts after losing a point to Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, returns a shot to Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts after scoring a point against Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — Marcus Stroman will be moved into the bullpen by the New York Yankees next week as they attempt to hold off Baltimore in a close race for the AL East crown.

New York has a day off Monday before beginning a six-game trip to Seattle and Oakland, so the Yankees will return to a five-man rotation. Nestor Cortes will be scheduled to start next time through instead of Stroman.

“He’ll be available for us out of the ‘pen probably Sunday and we’ll keep evaluating moving forward,” manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s 5-4 victory against Boston.

"I’ll try to put him in the best position, make sure we communicate well with him. He and I spoke yesterday about it. Nothing’s necessarily permanent, but with the off day coming I wanted to have us go five at least this time and maybe the next time around, too. We’ll see.”

It was Cortes who was the odd man out last week, when New York used five starters around an off day Sept. 5. The left-hander wasn't happy about the decision, but he pitched 4 1/3 hitless innings last Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in his first relief appearance since 2021. He earned the win in a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field.

Without an off day off this week, Stroman and Cortes both pitched on turn as the Yankees went with six starters.

Stroman allowed three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Cortes struck out nine over five innings in a no-decision Thursday against the Red Sox, permitting one run and three hits with three walks on 92 pitches.

Stroman is 10-8 with a 4.07 ERA in 28 starts during his first season with the Yankees. He has lost back-to-back outings after going 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in his previous four.

“He’s one of the reasons we’re here," Boone said. “He’s gone to the post for us, taken all of his starts, won a lot of ballgames for us. I think one of the reasons we have a chance to get to the postseason is some of the consistency of our starting pitching, and on balance he’s done a really good job for us.”

The right-hander made two relief appearances for the Cubs last September, pitching on consecutive days after returning from a right hip injury. Besides that, the other six relief outings of his major league career all came during his first season in 2014 with Toronto.

“Stro’s been so good for us and so good in the room,” Boone said. “He’s all team in there and all about the guys in there. Basically his message to me is, whatever you need and I’ll be ready to go.”

Cortes is 9-10 with a 3.90 ERA in 29 starts and one relief appearance this year. He has given up 24 home runs, eight more than previous career high.

Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt recently returned from the injured list, giving the Yankees six healthy starters. New York has the best record in the American League at 86-62, three games ahead of the Orioles in the AL East.

“It’s just really about, we’re at that point of the year — difficult decisions to make,” Boone said. "And part of the reason they’re difficult decisions is because we have a lot of really good options that have made those difficult decisions. That’s where we’re at right now.”

New York has another day off Sept. 23 before hosting Baltimore and Pittsburgh to conclude the regular season, but Boone didn't commit to a rotation plan for the final week.

“I would say it’s kind of fluid,” he said.

AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees closing pitcher Nestor Cortes, right, celebrates with catcher Austin Wells, left, after defeating the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in a baseball game in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman looks up before the start of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)