America’s Coco Gauff saved two match points in a second-set tiebreak against Mirra Andreeva in a comeback win at the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Sept. 9.
The 2–6, 7–6(7), 6–2 match sent the fourth-seeded Gauff to the U.S. Open semifinals for the second time in her career, after winning the tournament in 2023.
“Just believing is all I can do. I mean, the game may not always show up, but you know, I can control the belief in myself,” Gauff said after the match.
Gauff had a chance to serve out the second set at 5–3 but got broken. In the tiebreak, Gauff won a 39-shot rally to go up 5–3.
Later, she won a 21-shot rally to save the first match point, and saved the second with a backhand return that forced an error. Gauff won the match despite having 12 double faults.
“I think I got my chances today and I was just really determined to not lose that second set because I felt like I worked so hard to give myself opportunities and lost them,” Gauff said.
The 22-year-old from Florida improves to a career 6–0 record against Andreeva, with three of those wins coming from a set-down, according to the WTA.
When asked what she would’ve changed in the second set tiebreak, Andreeva mentioned taking more risks.
“I think at that moment, I kind of just wanted to make a rally or a longer point,” she said after the match. “If I would’ve gone for something riskier to see what would have happened—maybe that would be the only thing I would change.”
The quarterfinal is still by far the furthest the 19-year-old has made it at the tournament, and caps off a strong season where she won at Roland Garros and rose to the top five.
Gauff will play Rybakina, the new world No. 1, for a chance to play in the final, after falling in the fourth round the past two years.
“[In] the grand scheme of things [I’m] definitely sitting here in a different mindset and perspective than I was last year,” she said.
All four of the tournament’s top seeds are playing in the semifinals for the first time since 1975, with the world No. 2 ranking behind Rybakina up for grabs.
Gauff can also avenge a Wimbledon semifinal defeat against Karolina Muchova that happened after she missed a drop shot on her match point in a super tiebreak.
