American tennis player, Coco Gauff’s has lost hopes of partaking in another deep run at a Grand Slam as she didn’t make it past in the first round at the US Open on Monday, with the tennis player succumbing in three sets to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.

The United States (US) teen player, who played impressively at Wimbledon last year when she became the youngest player in the tournament’s history to qualify for the main draw before reaching the fourth round, was beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Gauff, a 16-year-old former junior world number one from Delray Beach had fought back to level the match against the 31st-seeded Sevastova after dropping the first set. But after squaring the match by taking the final three games of the second set to win it 7-5, Gauff was soon clambering to save the match in the third set.

Although Gauff saved three match points, Sevastova eventually closed out the win, converting her fourth match point.

It was a sad exit for Gauff, supported her fairytale Wimbledon campaign last year by reaching the third round at the US Open before another decent showing at the Australian Open in January, where she exited in the fourth round.

Gauff, in her speech about her exit from the game, said afterward she did not think the absence of spectators in New York had hampered her performance.

She said, “I think I compete just as hard with fans or not. I could have played better today. Just going to get back to work and get ready for the French Open.”

However, Gauf noted that limited playing opportunities in 2020 due to a tennis calendar turn over by COVID-19, had impacted her development.

In her words: “The main part that hurt was just getting matches under my belt, getting experience.

“That’s what I need on tour. I’m playing against people older than me who have been in more situations, difficult situations, than I have. I think the biggest thing is I just need experience.

“Right now my plan is just to play as many tournaments as I can, to get matches under my belt. I’m still in doubles here, so I’ll be here hopefully till the end. That’s the goal.

“Definitely a goal of mine to qualify.

“Right now I’m just focused on the match ahead, just focusing on the moment now. But obviously that’s a goal, to qualify for the Olympics next year.”