American Coco Gauff was upended on Tuesday in the third round of the women's singles event at the Olympics, falling to Croatia's Donna Vekić 7-6, 6-2.
Gauff struggled with her serve on Tuesday, firing seven double faults compared to Vekić's three. Gauff also bumbled break-point opportunities, converting just twice on nine attempts, while Vekić won four out of six break-point chances.
Vekić employed a high-risk, high-reward strategy on the clay courts. She had 39 unforced errors but countered with 18 forehand winners and 10 backhand winners. Gauff had 22 unforced errors but only had four forehand winners and five backhand winners.
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Despite Gauff's loss, the U.S. could still pick up a medal in women's singles. Danielle Collins earned a spot in the quarterfinals by defeating Colombia's Camila Osorio.
Gauff has swiftly become one of the world's top tennis players as she currently sits at No. 2 in the world rankings.
She still has a chance at winning two gold medals at the Olympics. She is a mixed doubles partner with fellow American Tanner Fritz. They are slated to take on Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Nadia Podoroska later on Tuesday in the first round. Gauff is also still in the women's doubles event with partner Jessica Pegula. They won their first-round match on Saturday over Australia's Daria Saville and Ellen Perez.
Gauff won her first Grand Slam doubles championship event last month at the French Open, which is on the same site as the Paris Olympics.
