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Gauff saves match points to set up Rybakina semi-final - Published Coco Gauff saved two match points as she fought from a set down to beat Mirra Andreeva and set up a US Open semi-final against incoming world number one Elena Rybakina. Blown away in a 26-minute opening set, fourth seed Gauff was twice pegged back from a break up in a scrappy second set before coming through a 16-point tie-break to force a decider. Roared on by a partisan crowd, the American's resilience proved the difference in what became a mental battle as she closed out a 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 win – a performance she said was inspired by compatriot Frances Tiafoe's comeback victory over Alex Michelsen on Tuesday night. Progression to the last four marks back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals for the two-time major champion and her first in New York since winning the title in 2023. It is the first time the top four seeds have reached the semi-finals of the women's singles at a major since Wimbledon in 2009, after top seed Sabalenka and third seed Jessica Pegula progressed on Tuesday. "At the end of the first set I was thinking about Frances and how he came back yesterday," Gauff said. "We all want to do well in front of this crowd. Honestly, I was just trying to leave the court with no regrets." Gauff also drew strength from her home crowd, something she has learned to embrace having struggled with the pressure of "disappointing" them with a "bad match" earlier in her career. "I don't have that fear of disappointing them. I'm just using them and knowing that when I step on this court, they're still going to have my back," she said. Earlier, second seed Rybakina recovered from losing a set for the first time this tournament - and going break-point down in the decider - to beat Zheng Qinwen 3-6 6-1 6-4. The 27-year arrived at the US Open trailing Aryna Sabalenka by just 434 points and was guaranteed to secure the number one ranking for the first time in her career by reaching the semi-finals. This was an uncharacteristic performance from Gauff, whose 22 winners were vastly outnumbered by 42 unforced errors, including 12 double faults. She won just five of the opening 21 points as Andreeva breezed into a one-set lead and later failed to consolidate breaks at 4-2 and 5-3 in the second set. A double fault at the beginning of the tie-break felt ominous, but the 22-year-old maintained her composure to save two match points - something which proved a turning point as she dominated the clutch moments in the decider. Her response was in stark contrast to Andreeva, who struck 14 unforced errors to Gauff's two in the final set and flung a racquet in frustration following the first break of serve. "You have to admire how Coco does this. She's done it so many times in her career," former British number one Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "She's unrecognisable from the player at the start of this match. She was subdued and playing defensive tennis. By the end, she was completely controlling the match. "We've been blessed with the amount of intriguing matches we've had. You're seeing these warriors out on court. "It's the ability of one of the gladiators to get themselves back in it." Addressing her outburst, Andreeva said: "I felt like I was holding my emotions for too long, not reacting on a lot of points. At one point I felt like needed to let it out." What might have been for resurgent Zheng Rybakina's ascension to the top of the rankings – the first Kazakhstani man or woman to do so – will rightly dominate the headlines. She has achieved one of her two goals for the tournament and is now just two wins away from a second major title of the season, having won the Australian Open in January. However, beaten opponent Zheng's achievements should not go unnoticed, offering a welcome reminder of her talent with an entertaining run to the last eight. Having dropped out of the top 100 following elbow surgery in July 2025, the reigning Olympic champion navigated three qualifying rounds before registering her first Grand Slam main-draw win since last year's French Open. She later stunned 22nd seed Madison Keys, who she trailed 5-0 in the third set and saved match point, and eighth seed Iga Swiatek to reach her third quarter-final in New York. Ranked 121st heading into the tournament, she is now up to 52nd in the live rankings and has just 65 points to defend for the remainder of the season. But for all the positives, there is an unshakable sense of what might have been against Rybakina. Momentum was with the 23-year-old after she broke late in the first set before staving off five break points to take a 1-0 lead. However, she was completely blown away in the second set, with her second serve coming under considerable pressure. She earned a break point in the eighth game of the decider but missed a routine backhand pass. In the next game, she brilliantly fought back from 0-40 to deuce but then followed a loose backhand with a double fault as her hopes of a maiden US Open semi-final slipped away.
document fetched 2026-09-10 02:56 · canonical https://bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/c98670d418yo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss