Sports10 September, 20262 min read
Coco Gauff Saves Two Match Points, Beats Mirra Andreeva to Reach US Open Semifinals
“Had the racket hit the cameraman – or anyone else – Andreeva would have been at risk of an immediate default.”
“she risked being defaulted after hurling her racket towards her chair”
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Gauff saved two match points to beat Andreeva 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 and reach semifinals. She will face Elena Rybakina, who beat Zheng Qinwen to reach the other semi and become world No. 1.
Gauff stuns Andreeva
Coco Gauff saved two match points in the second-set tiebreak and beat No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 in the US Open quarterfinals on Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Gauff’s comeback followed a first set in which she hit 14 unforced errors and lost the set in 26 minutes, before she reset after a restroom break and began to flip the momentum.
In the tiebreak, Gauff held a 4-3 lead and then won a 39-shot rally with a backhand winner, twice saving match point before taking the tiebreak 9-7.
After carrying that momentum into the deciding set, she broke Andreeva twice and closed out the match 6-2 to reach the US Open semifinals for the second time and for the first time since winning the 2023 title.
Gauff said, “I think the motto of the match was just to fight,” as her victory set up a semifinal against No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina.
Tiafoe reset and praise
Gauff described how she reset during the match, telling reporters, “I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday,” after she took a break in the locker room between sets. She added, “I just had to reset,” and said she came out “not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points,” before finding her rhythm in the second set. Sky Sports Tennis’ Marion Bartoli said of the fightback, “That was just pure heart to find a way, somehow,” while Tim Henman said Andreeva’s defeat was “a very difficult defeat for Andreeva to get over, having had match points in the second set.”
The match also produced a moment of on-court volatility, with Sky Sports describing Andreeva risking a default after she hurled her racket toward her chair and it spun toward a camera operator. After the quarterfinal, Gauff said of her semifinal opponent, “Elena’s the new world No 1, it’s going to be a tough match,” as she prepared to face Rybakina at Flushing Meadows.
Rybakina’s No. 1 stakes
Rybakina reached the US Open semifinals after beating Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, and the win guaranteed she would become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
ABC News reported that Rybakina would end Aryna Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday, while also noting that Rybakina would face either Gauff or Andreeva in the semifinals on Thursday.
Gauff’s semifinal is set against a player who, according to the same ABC News report, said, “It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” after her victory over Zheng.
The WTA Tennis report framed the matchup as the third meeting between Gauff and Rybakina, with the head-to-head tied 1-1 and Rybakina set to rise to World No. 1 on Monday.
With the other semifinal pairing top-ranked Sabalenka against No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the US Open women’s semifinals arrive with the top four seeds all through, and Gauff’s path now runs through Rybakina’s No. 1 momentum.