Coco Gauff produced one of the gutsiest wins of her career at Arthur Ashe, recovering from a shaky start to beat fellow French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 and reach her second US Open semifinal. Both players had an identical number of unforced errors, 42, displaying that it came down to who made the least number of errors in the end. It was Coco Gauff in the end, who just made two unforced errors in the decider, while Andreeva made 14. Let’s break down the win in moments that helped Gauff reach her second US Open semifinal.

1. The comeback inspired by fellow American

Gauff’s turnaround did not come from a tactical adjustment alone. In her on-court interview, she said that she was inspired by another American after struggling through the first set with 14 unforced errors. 

“I think I just had to reset. I came out not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points, and Andreeva was playing a great level,” she said. “But honestly, I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday. So you all want to do well in front of this crowd. I was just trying to literally leave the court with no regrets.”

Tiafoe had rallied from two sets down the previous day to beat Alex Michelsen in five, and Gauff’s own comeback would soon mirror that same refusal to fold.

2. Andreeva’s frustration boils over at the changeover

After Gauff broke to open the third set with two unforced errors from Andreeva, the Russian could not contain her frustration heading into the changeover, hurling her racket into her bag with enough force that it ricocheted out, sending other rackets flying and narrowly missing a courtside cameraman. It was the first moment when the Russian showed a burst of emotion, and from there she completely lost control of the match. 

3. Two match points saved in the tiebreak

Gauff lost her lead in the second set, going from 5-3 up to 5-5, which even included a set point that Andreeva managed to pull back. The 11th game started with a 19-shot rally which Gauff lost, and she immediately backed it up by winning a 23-shot rally. The 19-year-old Russian still managed to earn a break point but eventually squandered it with an easy forehand into the net, and Gauff managed to get that monumental hold.

The match went to the tiebreaker, and at the first changeover Gauff was leading the tiebreak 4-2. Right after the changeover, Gauff won the longest rally of the match, a 39-shot rally to push the scored 5-2. Andreeva clawed back with two easy unforced errors from the American and earned herself a match point. Once again, the fourth seed rallied her opponent to save the first match point with a 21-shot rally and then saved another in a quicker fashion. Finally, she got her second set point and this time she seized it.

4. A rough second set escape

Gauff’s number on paper was frightening halfway through the match. She even struggled in the opening points of the second set, at one point yelling towards her own box that she was missing everything and then committed five double faults in the first two service games alone. 

As the second set progressed further, she started to chase everything and put it back on the court. Her exceptional athleticism backed the strategy and made sure that she stretched every point and got an error out of Andreeva. The set as a whole featured more than ten rallies of nine shots or longer. 

Andreeva responded with two double faults of her own on serve at 3-4 before missing an easy putaway at net to get broken again, only for Gauff to immediately hand the advantage back with three more double faults of her own. At the end of the set, she had 9 double faults, 26 unforced errors, and still managed to win it.

5. The net game and the out-rally strategy that turned the tide

The clearest tactical shift was in the shot selection, along with a shift in mindset. After managing just 1 net approach in the entire first set, Gauff came forward 21 times in the second, winning 15 of those points. Combined with a conscious decision to simply out-rally her opponent from the baseline, the strategy paid off fully in the third set, where Gauff hit zero double faults and committed just two unforced errors, breaking twice to close out the match and throwing her arms up in triumph on the final point.

The win sends Gauff into a sixth career Grand Slam semifinal, one of which was her championship run at this very tournament in 2023, and sets up a clash with No. 1-in-waiting Elena Rybakina, who also came through a tough three-set battle of her own. 

The pair are knotted at one match apiece in their head-to-head, with Rybakina getting the better of Gauff most recently at the Toronto WTA 1000 event this summer. 

“She’s a new world number one, so it’s going to be a tough match,” Gauff said. “Last time we played, it was a tough three-setter for me. And I’m looking forward to the battle. These are the moments you live for.”