Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd cheer Coco Gauff on to victory at US Open

NEW YORK — Coco Gauff got a nice surprise when she looked up at her player’s box during her rousing third-round comeback win against Elina Svitolina. University of Connecticut basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd were on their feet willing the US Open defending champion through to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win and a return to the Round of 16.

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“Paige and Azzi, I’ve known them on social media for a while,” Gauff told reporters after the win. “Obviously they’re very good at what they do in basketball at UConn.

“I knew that they were coming today, and I got to meet them finally in person after the match.”

Bueckers knows a thing or two about being a prodigious teenage talent. In 2021, the UConn point guard became the first freshman to earn major women’s college player of the year awards. This year, after returning from a knee injury, she led UConn to the NCAA Final Four. Both Bueckers and Fudd are set to return to UConn this fall for their senior seasons.

“I think I got some of the good vibes from them to help me back me through,” Gauff said. “I saw Paige and both of them standing up getting out of their seats. So it was great to have that support, and hopefully I can return the favor at one of their games.”

Back into the Round of 16, Gauff is set to face her Olympic teammate Emma Navarro on Sunday in a rematch of their fourth-round showdown at Wimbledon. There, Navarro bested Gauff in straight-sets to advance to her first major quarterfinal.

“Getting to know [Coco] was awesome,” Navarro said after her straight-set win over Marta Kostyuk. “She gets a ton of attention. Just walking around the Village with her was pretty crazy, people constantly coming up to her and wanting to trade pins, wanting to take a picture with her.

“Especially for her age, to be able to handle it as well as she does is really impressive.”