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In January 2017, Dasha Lopatetskaya and Cori Gauff had played one of the best junior matches in recent years in the semi-final of the U14 Les Petits As, with the Ukrainian prevailing in the tie break of the final set. In the meanwhile, those two have become the leaders of their generations and they have played another great match in the quarter-final of the US Open and a qualifier Lopatetskaya scored a 6-4 3-6 6-2 triumph in two hours and three minutes to reach the semis on her Grand Slam debut.
The 15-year-old is already ranked inside the Top 750 on the WTA ranking list after winning the only two professional tournaments she has entered so far and will have a chance to become a Grand Slam champion now, standing as the youngest player who is still in the draw.
Cori was the only player born in 2004 in the draw and also the top seed, playing well in the opening three rounds before this tough Lopatetskaya clash that she found too hard to endure. The American made 17 double faults and she suffered seven breaks from no less than 18 break points she gave to Dasha, unable to pull that gap back in the return games after converting five break points from 12 opportunities that she created.
Lopatetskaya won five points more than her rival and she closed the match with three straight breaks to edge the great rival and stay on the title course. Cori held at love in the opening game and she broke with a backhand cross court winner to create an early gap.
Dasha broke back in game three after a double fault from Gauff and she saved two break points in the following game to level the score at 2-2 with a service winner after five deuces. Cori got broken again after a double fault in game five and she had to save a break point in game nine, prolonging the set with a service winner and reducing the deficit to 5-4.
Lopatetskaya fends off two break points in the 10th game and the opener was in her hands when Cori netted a forehand after a challenging 47 minutes of play. The American lost her serve after a double fault for the third time since the start of the match in the first game of set number two but she pulled it back after a poor backhand from Dasha in the following game to keep her self in contention.
Facing two break points in game five, Cori hit a service winner and forced an error from Dasha to reach the deuce, bringing the game home with another unreturned serve to stay in front. She moved 4-2 ahead after a double fault from Lopatetskaya in game six but the Ukrainian got it back immediately when Gauff sprayed a backhand error in the next game.
Dasha had no less than five game points to level the score at 4-4 but she squandered them all before hitting another double fault to lose serve and fall 5-3 behind, allowing Gauff to serve for the set. The American saved a break point with a huge forehand in that ninth game and a service winner delivered the set for her, hoping for more of the same in the decider.
There, Dasha drew first blood with a break in game four following another poor forehand from Cori and soon it was 5-1 for Lopatetskaya after another break at 4-1. Serving for the match, she suffered a break to keep Cori in contention but it was all over after another break for Dasha in game eight thanks to another basic error from Cori who will have to wait for another chance to win a home Major, losing in the final a year ago at the age of 13. Quarter-final results:
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