PARIS — Coco Gauff battled through 10 double faults and dropped her first set of the tournament before rallying to defeat Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday, advancing to the French Open semifinals for the third time in her career.
In a scrappy all-American quarterfinal, both players struggled with consistency under the closed roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier on a cool, drizzly day. Gauff and Keys, each a Grand Slam champion, combined for 101 unforced errors and just 40 winners in a match that stretched over two hours.
The encounter was defined by momentum swings and service breaks — 14 of the 29 games saw one player lose serve. But once the second set reached 4-all, Gauff found her rhythm. She held serve four straight times and won eight of the last nine games, making just two unforced errors in the final set — including a lone double fault.
Gauff, seeded No. 2, won the 2023 U.S. Open and was runner-up in Paris in 2022. She’ll return to the semifinals on Thursday, where she’ll face either No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva or French wild-card Loïs Boisson, ranked No. 361.
The other semifinal features a blockbuster showdown between top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and three-time defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek, who both advanced Tuesday. Swiatek has been a roadblock for Gauff in the past, beating her in the 2023 semifinals and the 2022 final at Roland-Garros.
“I still have a lot of work to do,” Gauff said after her win, raising her arms in celebration. “But I’m going to savor this one today.”
The match didn’t start smoothly for the 21-year-old Floridian. She fell behind 4-1 in the first set and was two points from a 5-1 hole. Gauff showed visible frustration — bowing her head and sighing after errors — but turned things around with her trademark speed and defensive grit. She clawed back into the set, forcing a tiebreak, but faltered there with three double faults.
In that opening set, Gauff tallied just seven winners to 21 unforced errors, while Keys notched 12 winners against 28 unforced errors — 19 of them from her powerful forehand. Gauff acknowledged the challenge afterward: “Her forehand is probably one of the best — if not the best — on tour. I just tried to get the ball back and punish anything short.”
Time and again, Gauff tracked down shots that would have been winners against most players, forcing Keys to hit extra balls and, often, to miss. At times, Keys showed her own frustration, slapping her leg after errors.
“With her ability to cover the court,” Keys said of Gauff, “you have to win the point multiple times before it’s actually over.”
Throughout the match, Gauff drew vocal support from the crowd, who chanted “Let’s go, Coco!” and “Allez, Coco!” in encouragement. The win ended Keys’ 11-match Grand Slam winning streak and kept Gauff’s campaign for a second major title alive.
