After some exchanges of breaks early in the second set Gauff seized the momentum for good when she broke for a 4-3 lead, pumping her arms and pointing to her ear when her backhand winner leveled the contest at a set apiece. The third set was all one-way traffic as Gauff's speedy defense, pinpoint serving and terrific play at the net overwhelmed former two-time quarterfinalist Mertens. "It's a matchup I never thought I'd have to play," Gauff said of former world number one Wozniacki, who retired in 2020 to start a family and returned to the game last month. "When she retired I remember saying that I wish I could have played her. "I don't know if it's a battle of generations," she said of the matchup between Gauff, 19, and the 33-year-old Dane.

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Persons: Coco Gauff, Belgium's Elise Mertens, Shannon Stapleton, Elise Mertens, Caroline Wozniacki, Mertens, Arthur Ashe, Gauff, quarterfinalist Mertens, Wozniacki, Jennifer Brady, I'd, Dane, Rory Carroll, Gerry Doyle, Miral Organizations: U.S, Thomson Locations: Flushing Meadows , New York, United States, Belgian, Gauff's, Gauff, Los Angeles