Coco Gauff left the 2025 US Open with mixed emotions: bruised after a loss to Naomi Osaka but upbeat about the work she has started on her serve. Observers had noted a sombre demeanour during parts of her run in New York, yet Gauff framed the week as part of a broader process.

The changes began after a difficult 2024 North American hard-court swing. She parted ways with Brad Gilbert and joined Matt Daly last September, a partnership that produced immediate results: she won the China Open and finished the year with the season-ending WTA Finals trophy. Her form carried into 2025 with a second major at Roland Garros and runner-up finishes at the Madrid Open and Italian Open, but she acknowledged a persistent weakness in her serve.

When Gavin MacMillan became available after the Cincinnati Open, Gauff made another significant switch. She and MacMillan focused on biomechanics and decided to change her entire service motion. That overhaul left the build-up to the US Open difficult; she described shoulder pain after practice but accepted the short-term discomfort.

A testing three-set win over Ajla Tomljanovic opened her campaign. There were tears during and after a two-set victory over Donna Vekic, and she dropped only four games against Magdalena Fręch in the third round before the defeat to Osaka. After the Fręch match she admitted she “broke down.”

She detailed the emotional swing: “I think that trying to be more positive after the match, I was really disappointed,” she admitted. “Kind of broke down to my team and then hearing their perspectives and everything, it definitely is a lot of positive things.

“If I think if I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out the first round. And so I think that where my serve started from the start of the tournament to today was a big improvement. And I feel like now I just have to get everything to work together. But, yeah, I knew going in it was going to be a tough tournament for me.”

Statistically there are signs of progress: she served 320 double faults before the US Open, added 23 in her first three matches in New York and five more against Osaka. “My goal going into the tournament this year was not to lose the same way that I lost last year. And I don’t remember how many doubles I hit in my match against Emma, but it was definitely in the double digits, so I didn’t do that today,” she said.

At 21 she already owns 10 WTA Tour singles titles, including two Grand Slams, a WTA Finals trophy and two WTA 1000 titles, and she has peaked at No 2. With older rivals such as Aryna Sabalenka, 27, and Iga Swiatek, 24, she sees room to grow: “So I think for me, it just gets me excited to realise if I have, like, four more years of just working as hard as I am right now and actually doing the right things, like where my game could be.”

Novak Djokovic’s progress to the US Open quarter-finals has come with trade-offs. The 38-year-old skipped pre‑US Open tournaments to spend time with his family, a decision that left him short of match rhythm, yet he nonetheless overcame niggles and rust to reach another Grand Slam last eight.

That run carries a personal cost. Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz on Tuesday and the match falls on the same day his daughter Tara celebrates her birthday. When asked about missing the family occasion, the 24‑time Grand Slam champion acknowledged his disappointment.

“It is what it is,” began Djokovic. “We predicted that might happen. She was not very happy about it, me being absent from the birthday party. So, don’t remind me of that, please.

“Those are types of things that I really don’t want to be missing anymore. So, it’s just on a personal level for me important to be there, to show up, you know, for the people that have been showing up for me for all these years playing tennis.”

He also promised to make his absence felt in other ways, combining a pursuit of victory with birthday gifts. “At least I’m going to try to win and give her that kind of present, as I’m going to send some nice presents for her birthday party.

“Hopefully, the win can be something she can be happy with. But again, yeah, daddy away and daddy present is a big difference. And I know that I, but it is what it is this year.”

Djokovic has been explicit about shifting priorities as his career continues. He explained his decision before the tournament: “I decided not to play (US Open warm-up tournaments) because I wanted to spend more time with my family,” and added: “And to be honest, you know, I think I earned my right and have the luxury of kind of choosing, picking and choosing where I want to go and what I want to play.

“It’s just not any more prioritizing the heavy schedule as I used to. I’m not chasing the rankings or building up my points or defending, et cetera. I just don’t think about it anymore.

“For me, it’s really about where do I find motivation and joy? Where will I be inspired to play the best tennis? And where do I care to be, really, and play? And Slams are obviously the four main tournaments where I always feel the most motivation.”

He has said he does not know when or where he will call time on his career, but his choices at this US Open underline that family considerations are playing an increasing role.

Taylor Fritz acknowledged the scale of the task ahead as he prepares to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the 2025 US Open. Fritz enters the match having lost all 10 previous meetings with Djokovic, results that came between 2019 and 2024. This will be their fourth encounter at a Grand Slam; Djokovic beat Fritz at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2021 and at the US Open in 2023.

Their most recent meeting came at the Shanghai Masters in October last year, where Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 7-6(6) after saving a set point in a decisive second set.

Fritz reached the Flushing Meadows quarter-finals by defeating Emilio Nava, Lloyd Harris, Jerome Kym and Tomas Machac. Djokovic advanced by beating Learner Tien, Zachary Svajda, Cameron Norrie and Jan-Lennard Struff.

After his 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 fourth-round victory over Machac, Fritz put the head-to-head record into context. “I think the thing is, it’s spanned over so many years,” the world No 4 said.

“I think the first, probably like seven or eight times I played him, I wasn’t just a good enough player to have that much of a chance, unless I have like the best day ever and he has a bad day.

“Only the last couple times we’ve played I think I’ve been this, just better player that can, I’d say compete and have chances and last time we played, Shanghai, I had looks, I had set points in the second set, I really probably should have won the second, taken it to a third set.

“But yeah, think what makes it tough is he serves well, he serves aggressive on second serves. It’s tough to take advantage of his serve for how well he also returns and just is from the baseline, he backs it up incredibly well with the serve, so it’s tough to sometimes get on him the way that he’s I guess getting on you with the return.”

The 27-year-old also reflected on how to overturn a one-sided head-to-head. “I think the way to turn around is just to become a better player,” Fritz assessed.

“I think that Coco would probably say the same thing. I think she would probably tell me that she was just better at tennis when she started reversing the head-to-head.

“And for me, in my head I’m not thinking about all the losses I had to Novak when I was like… five years ago. I was nowhere near the level of player that I am now.

“What I’m thinking about, fresh in my mind is when we played at World Tour Finals (2022), that one, and the one in Shanghai last year. In those ones, I served for the set in the World Tour Finals, I had set point serving in Shanghai.

“I know that in the most recent matches we’ve had, there’s been looks and I just haven’t been able to make it happen in the important moments of those matches.

“And that’s what makes the best guys the best guys, is they’re not going to give it to you in those moments. You have to go and take it.”