The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open. Welcome to the U.S. Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.On Day 7, upsets and tussles, a huge deficit in the draws and a college tennis honor.How did Coco Gauff get the job done on a day of tussle for top stars?Coco Gauff has spent the summer playing like someone who has put her “winning ugly” days behind her.She bangs aces. She cracks forehands. She comes in and finishes points at the net. She runs like a deer.Mostly. And not Saturday, when she dipped below her level of the past two months and made 28 errors, including six double faults across 19 games, against Cristina Bucşa of Spain. Gauff did still win, of course, 6-3, 6-4.The truth is every player has to win a bit ugly sometimes. It may be the most valuable skill there is in a sport where playing at one’s peak is very rare. And there was a whole lot of tussle among the top players in the women’s draw Sunday.2022 U.S. Open champion Iga Świątek needed to come through two tiebreaks to take out Marie Bouzková of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 7-6(3). Naomi Osaka, the two-time champion and No. 13 seed, and No. 23 seed Elise Mertens produced a thriller on Louis Armstrong Stadium, which Osaka grabbed 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.Why are some tennis players better at night?Tifo Sports“In the third set, I was just being really overly critical,” Osaka said. “And then it, like, got to a point where I was just like: ‘OK, just fight for everything. See if she is going to close it out on her terms.’“Like, I started pushing a lot, because I wanted to see if she had the guts to hit winners and go for it.”At the same time as Osaka played, No. 14 seed Iva Jović and No. 17 seed Alex Eala, two rising stars, were lighting up Arthur Ashe Stadium in prime time, with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win for Jović.A trio of top Americans could have done with some of that tussle.2025 finalist Amanda Anisimova looked to be climbing back into her duel with No. 24 seed Anastasia Potapova, but stalled out and lost in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.Madison Keys was serving at 5-0 in the third set before Zheng Qinwen stormed back for a 1-6, 7-6(3) 7-5 win.Taylor Fritz frittered away a two-set lead as he landed just 53 percent of his serves and lost in five to Francisco Cerúndolo.What allowed Gauff to survive? She covers the court better than maybe anyone in the game. Serves and forehands and backhands have to find tiny spots on the surface. Gauff can cut them off.So too can Learner Tien, the No. 14 seed on the men’s side. He came from two-sets-to-one down against Jakub Menšík, the No. 17 seed from the Czech Republic, by forcing Menšík to come up with incredible shots and coming up with some of his own in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 win.