Gauff saves two match points, credits Tiafoe for US Open comeback inspiration

[Federation66]

Coco Gauff saved two match points in a second set tiebreaker to rally past fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 on September 9th, reaching her first US Open semifinal since winning the tournament in 2023. The 19-year-old French Open champion Andreeva won the first seven points of the match and took the opening set in just 26 minutes before Gauff, the fourth seed, found her footing, eventually winning a 39-shot rally to build a 5-3 lead in the second set tiebreaker before Andreeva clawed back to earn match point twice

Gauff said she drew inspiration directly from fellow American Frances Tiafoe's own two-set comeback victory the previous day, admitting she was thinking about how he came back and that everyone wants to perform well in front of the home crowd. She described her mindset during the tense stretch as simply trying to leave the court with no regrets regardless of the outcome. It marked Gauff's tenth consecutive victory and continued a pattern of dramatic comebacks that's defined much of this year's tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium

Gauff now faces new world number one Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, who staged her own comeback earlier the same day to beat Zheng Qinwen and clinch the top ranking regardless of how the rest of the tournament plays out. Gauff called it going to be a tough match, acknowledging Rybakina's status and form heading into the meeting. Curious what people think explains this specific tournament's unusually high number of dramatic comebacks across both the men's and women's draws, is it genuinely random variance, or does something about the current playing conditions or field depth make matches at Arthur Ashe this year more volatile than usual

Coco Gauff rallies past Mirra Andreeva to make US Open semiswww.espn.com