Coco Gauff reaches US Open semifinals after thrilling comeback
Coco Gauff walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium as the defending US Open champion. For a long stretch on Tuesday night, she looked like a player on her way out.
She left it as a semifinalist.
The American survived a furious challenge from fifth seed Mirra Andreeva, saving two match points and clawing back from a set and a break down to win 2–6, 7–6 (9–7), 6–2 in New York.
It was an escape. It was a statement.
Andreeva’s blistering start
From the first ball, Andreeva took control. The Russian teenager tore through the opening games, racing to a 4–0 lead as Gauff struggled to land a punch. The defending champion could not carve out a single break point in the first set, constantly pushed back by Andreeva’s depth and timing.
The numbers told the story. Andreeva kept things relatively clean with five unforced errors in the set. Gauff sprayed 14. The scoreboard followed: 6–2, Andreeva, in just over half an hour, and a restless murmur rolled around Ashe. The favorite looked rattled.
A wild second set and a 39-shot turning point
Gauff tried to reset in the second set, but Andreeva did not back off. The pair traded breaks twice, each surge answered immediately by the other. Every time Gauff hinted at momentum, Andreeva yanked it away.
The pressure mounted. The rallies lengthened. The set, inevitably, went to a tiebreak.
That is where the match cracked open.
In the breaker, Andreeva earned two match points and stood on the verge of the biggest win of her young career. Gauff, pinned to the baseline, refused to yield. On one of those points, the two produced a staggering 39-shot rally, Gauff finally finishing it with a precise backhand that clipped the line and brought the crowd to its feet.
She saved both match points. She stole the tiebreak 9–7. The roar inside Ashe sounded like a title match, not a quarterfinal. And just like that, the defending champion had life.
Gauff seizes control
The emotional swing hit Andreeva hard. The Russian’s level dipped at the start of the deciding set, and Gauff pounced. She broke in the third game, at last dictating with her forehand instead of scrambling in defense.
The American’s intensity only grew. In the seventh game, she tore through Andreeva’s serve to love, a ruthless break that underlined the shift in authority. Now it was Gauff who was stepping inside the baseline, Gauff who was winning the exchanges that had belonged to Andreeva for so long.
Serving for the match, she did not hesitate. A clean forehand sealed it, completing a comeback that had seemed distant when she trailed by a set and stared down match points.
From 2–6, 5–6, on the brink of elimination, to 2–6, 7–6 (9–7), 6–2 and into the last four.
Rybakina awaits
The reward is a semifinal meeting with second seed Elena Rybakina, one of the most imposing servers in the game and a major champion in her own right. It is a heavyweight clash: the reigning US Open winner against a former Wimbledon champion, power against athleticism under the New York lights.
Gauff has already shown she can walk the tightrope and survive. Against Rybakina, she will hope not to need another escape.
