Coco Gauff passed her biggest test so far at the French Open as she scrapped her way past fellow American Madison Keys to reach the semi-finals.
A scruffy match featuring a combined 101 unforced errors and 14 breaks of serve ended 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 in favour of the world No 2. Gauff had previously not dropped a set as she quietly made her way through the friendlier side of the draw.
But in a nervy first set on both sides of the net, Gauff overturned a 4-1 deficit to force a set point at 5-4, only to be taken to a tie-break which Keys won. Gauff went 4-1 up in the second but found herself pegged back, before a break and a hold took the match into a decider.
The confidence had drained from Keys, the Australian Open champion, while Gauff finally located her serve, having coughed up nine double faults over the first two sets. A pass down the line brought up three match points and the 21-year-old roared with delight when Keys went long, giving her the victory in two hours and 11 minutes.
“Maddie was playing well, she’s hitting the ball so fast and so low so I was just trying to fight for each point,” said Gauff, the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2022. “I knew I had to be able to run today and as soon as the ball came short, punish her for it.
“It means a lot, getting through this tough match. I’m very happy to get through and be in the semi-finals again. I’ll savour this one today and be ready for tomorrow’s match.”
Gauff will next face the winner of Wednesday’s second quarter-final between Mirra Andreeva and home hope Loïs Boisson.
This report will update after the second women’s semi-final
