Coco Gauff comes back to beat Mirra Andreeva, heads to US Open semis

NEW YORK - Coco Gauff saved two match points in the second set and came back to beat French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 in another thrilling US Open quarterfinal match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Gauff, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in one semifinal on Sept. 10. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will face third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.

Andreeva won the first seven points of the match, and most of Gauff's mistakes were her own doing.

Gauff, who has won 11 matches in a row, struggled with her serve, which was broken on her first two serves, leaving her down 4-0 within 12 minutes, and Andreeva finished off the set against the 2023 US Open champion in 26 minutes. The roles were reversed in that final set, as Andreeva melted down, especially in her last service game, where she committed four unforced errors, all of the forehand variety.

Another forehand volley error ended Andreeva's time in New York, as the victorious Gauff dropped her racket and threw her hands in the air and screamed in jubilation.

The second set was more of the same for Gauff; even though she got out to a 5-3 lead and was serving for the set, she committed three of her 12 double faults in the game, allowing Andreeva to seize momentum.

But just like the previous five quarterfinal matches on Arthur Ashe, this one went the distance.

The second-set tiebreak featured a 39-shot rally, giving Gauff the slightest edge, but another unforced error by Gauff was nullified when she saved two match points, the last when Andreeva's return off a Gauff forehand went weakly into the net, finally ending the 80-minute set.

After Andreeva was broken in the third set, frustration started to mount as she bounced her racket on the court while walking to her bench. All four of Andreeva's US Open career losses have come against Americans, including a loss to Gauff on her way to the 2023 title.