Coco Gauff saved two match points to defeat reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 , 6-2 in a US Open quarter-final on Wednesday.
Fourth-ranked Gauff, a 22-year-old American and two-time Grand Slam winner, advanced to Thursday’s semi-finals, where she will face Kazakh star Elena Rybakina. Rybakina has a 1-1 career record against Gauff, winning a semi-final last month in Canada after Gauff won their only other meeting in Canada in 2022. Fifth-ranked Andreeva, a 19-year-old Russian, won her first major title at Roland Garros but was foiled despite owning two match points in the second set tie-breaker.
Andreeva and Gauff Battle in Tense Set
In a closely contested match, Andreeva began strong, dominating the opening set. She thwarted Gauff’s first break point opportunity with a forehand winner, leveling the score at 2-2 after holding serve in the fourth game.
Gauff seized a 4-2 lead by breaking Andreeva when the Russian sent a backhand long. However, Andreeva responded, breaking back in the seventh game as Gauff misfired a forehand wide.
Andreeva faltered in the eighth game, netting a forehand volley after committing two double faults, allowing Gauff to take a break. But Gauff struggled to close out the set, netting a forehand while serving for it in the ninth game, resulting in a fourth consecutive break.
The set proceeded to a tie-breaker where Gauff saved two match points. Andreeva’s errors, including sending forehands wide and long, opened the door for Gauff, who ultimately clinched the set when Andreeva sent a forehand long and then netted another forehand.
