Coco Gauff overcame 10 double faults and the primary set she has dropped on the French Open to beat Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday and attain the semifinals for the third time.
The match was crammed with loads of errors by each People, who every have claimed one main championship. They mixed for 101 unforced errors and simply 40 winners throughout greater than two hours below a closed roof at Court docket Philippe-Chatrier on a drizzly, chilly day.
“I used to be simply attempting to struggle for each level,” Gauff mentioned.
The No. 2-seeded Gauff, who received the 2023 US Open and was the runner-up on the 2022 French Open, will face the winner between No. 6 Mirra Andreeva and 361st-ranked French wild card Lois Boisson within the semifinals Thursday. Gauff is 4-0 in her profession in opposition to Andreeva, together with two wins in 2025, and has by no means confronted Boisson.
“I’ve much more work left to do,” mentioned Gauff, who raised her arms overhead then unfold them large aside after the final level in opposition to Keys, “however I’ll savor this one as we speak.”
She began significantly poorly in opposition to Keys, trailing 4-1 and being a degree from a 5-1 deficit. Gauff bowed her head or sighed after some miscues. Then abruptly she acquired going, utilizing her velocity and instincts to stretch factors till Keys — the Australian Open champion in January — missed.
That helped Gauff get inside a degree of taking that set. However the 21-year-old primarily based in Florida double-faulted thrice within the tiebreaker and shortly was headed to the locker room to regroup.
The primary set was sloppy. Gauff had seven winners to 21 unforced errors. Keys has 12 winners to twenty-eight unforced errors, 19 of which arrived from her highly effective forehand.
“I knew that I simply had to have the ability to run as we speak, and as quickly because the ball got here quick,” Gauff mentioned, “simply punish her for it.”
Repeatedly, Gauff scrambled this fashion or that to get her racket on a shot from Keys that in opposition to loads of different gamers would finish the purpose. Typically sufficient, it labored effectively, resulting in a miss by Keys, who sometimes admonished herself with a slap on her proper leg.
“Together with her capability to cowl the courtroom,” Keys mentioned, “you are going to must win the purpose a number of instances earlier than it is truly over.”
Gauff is now 4-0 in her French Open profession when shedding the primary set and profitable the second set. That ties her with Elina Svitolina for probably the most such wins with out a loss since 2019, in response to ESPN Analysis.
She additionally grew to become the youngest lady to say 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000).
The Related Press contributed to this report.
