{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Flushing Meadows Delivers Contrasting Fortunes for American Tennis as Gauff Advances While Keys, Anisimova Fall",
  "summary": "Coco Gauff reached the fourth round of the US Open, but Madison Keys blew a huge lead to lose and Amanda Anisimova exited in straight sets.",
  "content": "American tennis fans experienced sharply contrasting emotions at the US Open on Wednesday, as Coco Gauff cruised into the fourth round while compatriots Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova both suffered defeats.\n\nGauff extends her run at home\nGauff, the 2023 champion in New York and still the most recent American winner of the title, beat Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-3 6-4 to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 19th time in her career. The win was not straightforward. Gauff fell behind 3-1 in the opening set and was broken to love early in the second, but responded immediately on both occasions to close out the match.\n\nThe 22-year-old has now reached the second week at the US Open for a fifth consecutive year. Her straight-set win over Bucsa was also her eighth consecutive straight-set victory at WTA Tour level, continuing the strong form she has carried since winning the 2025 French Open. Gauff became the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams achieved the feat in 1999, when she broke through for her first Grand Slam title three years ago.\n\nThe fourth round is exactly where Gauff's US Open campaigns ended in each of the previous two editions, and she has admitted that handling the pressure of her home slam got the better of her last year. This time, she said things feel different. \"I feel like I'm used to getting to the second week now,\" Gauff said. She added that the expectations that come with being American at her home tournament remain, but that, unlike last year, she is no longer piling extra pressure on herself and is instead trying to enjoy the experience in front of home fans.\n\nKeys' third-set collapse\nMadison Keys, who had already saved five match points in her second-round win over Anna Bondar, looked on course to reach the fourth round of her home Grand Slam for the first time since 2023. The 31-year-old, who won the 2025 Australian Open, built a commanding 5-0 lead in the deciding third set against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China. From there, the match unravelled completely. Keys missed a match point and then lost each of the final seven games as Zheng completed a stunning turnaround to win 1-6 7-6(7-3) 7-5.\n\nKeys said the sudden reversal left her unable to function on court. She described fear setting in as her big lead began to slip, to the point where she felt she could not freely swing her racquet. \"I felt like I couldn't play tennis anymore,\" Keys said, adding that the moment suddenly felt like far more than just another tennis match.\n\nThe defeat extends a difficult run for Keys, who lost the 2017 US Open final to fellow American Sloane Stephens and has now gone out in the fourth round at all three of the other majors in 2026. She indicated she can no longer keep postponing changes to her game, saying she has been struggling for a while but has kept putting off action because of how demanding the tour schedule can be.\n\nAnisimova bows out in straight sets\nThere was also disappointment for Amanda Anisimova, who was beaten by world number one Aryna Sabalenka in last year's US Open final. The 25-year-old lost in straight sets this time to Russian-born Austrian player Anastasia Potapova, the tournament's 24th seed. Anisimova appeared visibly frustrated with her own game throughout the contest, losing her serve twice in the first set and four times during a topsy-turvy second set as Potapova completed the win.\n\nAmerican depth still runs deep at Flushing Meadows\nDespite the exits of Keys and Anisimova, the strength of the American contingent remains evident in New York. As many as five American women could still reach the last 16, with Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Townsend and Emma Navarro already through to the fourth round and Iva Jovic hoping to join them.\n\nThe men's draw shows similarly heavy American representation. Players from the United States could end up contesting six of the eight fourth-round matches, with Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Alex Michelsen already through to that stage. Learner Tien and Michael Zheng are still to complete their third-round matches, with a chance to add further American names to the last 16 in the men's draw.\n\nWhat this means for you\nFor anyone following the US Open, Wednesday's results reshape who fans and bettors will be watching over the tournament's second week.\n\n• Tennis fans and bettors: Zheng Qinwen's stunning comeback against Madison Keys and Anastasia Potapova's win over Amanda Anisimova change the shape of the women's draw. Anyone tracking match-by-match outcomes will need to adjust expectations now that two fancied Americans are already out.\n• Coco Gauff's fan base: Her straight-set win over Cristina Bucsa, her eighth in a row, keeps alive hopes of a second US Open title on home soil, so fans planning to watch her remaining matches can expect a player currently in career-best form.\n• Followers of Madison Keys: Her admission that she needs to make changes after fourth-round exits at all four majors in 2026 suggests possible changes to her team, schedule or approach in the coming months.\n• Supporters of American men's tennis: With up to six Americans potentially reaching the last 16, viewers can expect heavy US presence in the business end of the men's draw over the coming days.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Who did Coco Gauff beat to reach the fourth round?\nShe beat Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-3 6-4.\n\n2. How many times has Gauff now reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam?\nThis is the 19th time in her career.\n\n3. What happened to Madison Keys?\nShe led Zheng Qinwen 5-0 in the third set but ended up losing 1-6 7-6(7-3) 7-5.\n\n4. Who beat Amanda Anisimova?\nRussian-born Austrian 24th seed Anastasia Potapova beat her in straight sets.\n\n5. How many American women could reach the fourth round?\nAs many as five, with Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Townsend and Emma Navarro already through and Iva Jovic hoping to join them.\n\n6. How many American men could reach the last 16?\nUp to six, with Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Alex Michelsen already through and Learner Tien and Michael Zheng still to play.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/tennis/flushing-meadows-men-ameriki-tenisa-ke-mile-jule-natije-gauff-age-barhin-to-keys-aura-anisimova-bahara-28350",
  "category": "Tennis",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-06",
  "tags": [
    "US Open",
    "Coco Gauff",
    "Madison Keys",
    "Amanda Anisimova",
    "Zheng Qinwen",
    "American tennis"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}