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Coco Gauff's Dramatic Escape into US Open Semi-Finals
For 26 grim minutes, the defending US Open champion looked lost.
Coco Gauff’s serve misfired, her forehand leaked errors, and Mirra Andreeva – the teenager who conquered Roland Garros – tore through the opening set 6-2 as if this were a mismatch, not a quarter-final on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Three winners. Fourteen unforced errors. One shell-shocked home favourite.
Then the match turned into something else entirely.
From chaos to escape
Gauff steadied. Not instantly, not cleanly, but point by point. The second set became a grind, rallies stretching, the pace dropping as nerves wrapped themselves around both players’ rackets.
Andreeva, the fifth seed, still held the match in her hands. Twice in the tie-break she stood a point away from a statement victory over the reigning champion. Twice she flinched.
Gauff did not.
The American dragged the breaker to 7-7, clung on, and stole it 9-7. The stadium erupted; Andreeva’s composure cracked. As she flung her racket towards her chair in frustration, it skidded dangerously close to a camera operator, who had to dodge out of the way. The flash of anger underlined how much had just slipped away.
From there, the contest belonged to Gauff. Freed by survival, she surged through the decider, running away with it 6-2 to complete a 2-6 7-6 (7) 6-2 escape that was built less on clean ball-striking than on stubborn refusal to go away.
Afterwards, she admitted she needed a mental reset and found it in an unlikely place: another five-set fightback on the same courts.
“I just had to reset,” Gauff said. “I came out at the start, not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points. Mirra was playing a great level, but when I went to the restroom after the first set, honestly I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday.
“We all want to do well in front of this crowd. I was trying to leave the court with no regrets, I didn’t know what outcome would come. You guys really helped pull me through.”
It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t need to be.
‘Pure heart’ from Gauff, brutal lesson for Andreeva
From the commentary box, the verdict was blunt.
“That was just pure heart to find a way, somehow,” said Sky Sports Tennis’ Marion Bartoli. “It doesn't really matter the level, you just have to find a way on the day.
“She’s the one tomorrow in the semi-final of the US Open. If she wins the US Open, no one will remember her level here in the quarters. Coco Gauff is one of the only players in the world capable of winning a match like that.”
Tim Henman, also courtside for Sky Sports, saw a match that veered from brilliance to anxiety in a heartbeat.
“You've got two brilliant players capable of playing some amazing tennis who through serving issues and errors became so tight and so nervous,” he said. “The ball speed deteriorated, and went down and down. But that's the beauty of tennis. It's about keeping the ball on the island and cutting out unforced errors.
“That is going to be a very difficult defeat for Andreeva to get over, having had match points in the second set. But she will learn so much from it. She'll be incredibly disappointed.”
The Russian leaves New York with a scar and a lesson: in Grand Slam tennis, closing is a skill you have to earn.
Gauff, meanwhile, earns something far more tangible – a semi-final against the new ruler of the rankings.
Rybakina rises to No 1, and into Gauff’s path
Earlier in the day, Elena Rybakina secured a different kind of comeback and, with it, a new status.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan will become world No 1 for the first time on Monday after a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over Qinwen Zheng, ending Aryna Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at the top. She has been chasing Sabalenka all season; now she cannot be caught, even if the Belarusian lifts a third straight US Open title.
Rybakina did it the hard way. Zheng, who had already logged close to 12 hours on court through qualifying and the main draw, came out swinging, took the first set, and threatened to extend her Emma Raducanu-style run deep into the night.
Rybakina’s response was ruthless. She tightened her game, cut the errors, and ripped through the second set 6-1. By the decider, Zheng’s legs began to betray her workload, and the Australian Open champion pressed home the advantage, sealing the match 6-4.
“It's just a number right now, I'm only in the semis and the goal is to win every tournament I play,” Rybakina said. “I feel like I just need to focus on my game and enjoy tomorrow.
“It's tough to find words. It was a very difficult match, lot's of nerves, maybe not the highest level but I'm glad I pushed through. I didn't start that well, I was too negative. It was a lot of unforced errors but I told myself to keep on fighting.”
Henman liked what he saw once she settled.
“It ended up being a really good performance,” he said. “It wasn't the best start from Rybakina, Zheng had something to do with that, but the way she responded in the second and third sets was impressive.
“She was more aggressive from the back of the courts. In that third set, when it was tight, Rybakina really did show her class.”
Zheng’s fairytale ends with her ranking back on the brink of the top 50, a rapid climb from 121 after elbow surgery. Rybakina leaves with a semi-final place, the No 1 crown, and a looming showdown with the defending champion.
Gauff brings the roar of Arthur Ashe and a heart that just survived match points. Rybakina brings the clean, heavy power of a new world No 1.
One of them will walk out of New York with more than just a place in the final.
