21-year old American tennis star explained that Svitolina imposed her style of play — one Gauff was unable to handle.
“I just felt like everything I usually do well wasn’t working today," she admitted.
"My backhand wasn’t landing, my forehand wasn’t landing. The return. There were a lot of things that just weren’t clicking today."
"I give credit to Svitolina, because she’s the one who made me play that way. It’s not like I just woke up and said, ‘Yeah, today’s a bad day.’ A lot of times bad days are because of your opponent. She played really well,” Gauff was quoted as saying by Yahoo Sports.
Svitolina defeated Gauff in straight sets, 6–1, 6–2. The match lasted 59 minutes.
After the match, Gauff smashed her racket.
In the semifinals, Svitolina will face a neutral-status tennis player holding a Belarusian passport, Aryna Sabalenka (World No. 1), who defeated American Iva Jovic (World No. 27).