NEW YORK — Coco Gauff’s US Open title defense ended Saturday after a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro. It was Gauff’s second straight Grand Slam loss at the hands of Navarro, but the 2023 champion maintained her perspective after the match.

“I don’t think for me it’s the summer I want,” Gauff said. “I feel like there are 70 other players in the draw who would love to have the summer I had, even though (my results dropped) at this time of year.

“So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to reach the Olympics. So many people want to carry the flag. It’s perspective. Of course it’s disappointing because I want to reach another level, but I’m not going to punish myself and say: this was so bad.

“Yes, I expected better, but in the end it happened and I know I can turn it around.”

Gauff entered the US Open with three match wins since Wimbledon. It has been a tough run of form for the world No. 3, who reached the round of 16 at the Olympics, the round of 16 in Toronto and lost her opening match in Cincinnati.

But after some much-needed time at home in Florida, Gauff arrived in good spirits for her first Grand Slam title defense, dismissing the idea that she was mentally exhausted from her Olympic debut or that she was buckling under the pressure.

“I mean, mentally I gave it my all and emotionally I gave it my all,” Gauff said. “Obviously there were things execution-wise where I obviously wished I could have served better. I think if I had done that, it would have been a different story for me in the match.

“But Emma played really well. I thought she did everything right. She was really aggressive on my second serve, so she put more pressure on my serve and was solid from the baseline. That’s what I expected going in.

“So I have no emotional regrets, but of course I wish I could have done things better.”

Sometimes it’s just about tennis, and even Gauff’s tireless defense and fierce competitiveness couldn’t overcome 19 double faults and 29 forehand unforced errors. Gauff acknowledged there were mechanical flaws that needed to be fixed — “I tend to go left on my serve and that’s something I’m aware of” — but it’s hard to find the time to fix something when you’re a top player in an Olympic year.

Gauff hopes a good training block will get her back on track before she starts the Asian swing.

“I haven’t had that since maybe before the clay court season started,” Gauff said. “I think we’ll see how it goes in Asia. If I qualify (for the WTA Finals), I’ll play, obviously. I think long-term, I definitely want to have a good training block, and I think we’ll see how many tournaments I play the rest of the year.”

Gauff did not rule out bringing in a biomechanical coach to help with the serving problems. It was a decision that also paid off for world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka when she was struggling too.

“I definitely want to hear other opinions,” Gauff said. “I think sometimes it’s more of an emotional, mental thing because if I went out on the practice court right now, I’d be serving 30 times in a row. I’ve done that before. I think it’s just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to get over when it comes down to it.

“But yes, I definitely want to look at other things, because I don’t want to lose these kinds of matches anymore.”