Spirited Gauff defeats Jabeur to advance to French Open semifinals
On Tuesday, American third seed Coco Gauff rallied to defeat fan favourite Ons Jabeur 4-6 6-2 6-3 to become the first player to reach the French Open semi-finals.
Jabeur was cheered on by a Tunisian contingent on Court Philippe-Chatrier as Gauff lost the first set, but the American gained confidence in the second and stamped her authority in the third to advance to the semifinals for the second time.
"She's a tough opponent, she's well loved on tour and I could tell by the crowd today. I know you guys wanted her to win," reigning U.S. Open champion Gauff said.
"Honestly, whenever she's not playing, I cheer for her too. So thank you guys for making it a good atmosphere. I like playing in environments like this."
"Even when I lost the first set and they were chanting when I was in the bathroom, I was like, 'This is just really fun', win or lose."
In the first set, the two players matched each other blow for blow, whether rallying from the baseline or attacking the net.
In an eight-minute game at 3-3, Jabeur finally converted a break point, and the Tunisian hit a purple patch on serve, leaving Gauff with no answer to her pinpoint winners and drop shots.
Roared on by her fans, Jabeur quickly made it 5-3 and nearly broke Gauff again before wrapping up the set on serve with a searing ace.
Gauff gained confidence in the second set, particularly on serve, where she consistently exceeded 200 km/hr, while Jabeur struggled as the American converted all three break point opportunities to force a decider.
"I was definitely trying to be more aggressive. She was playing really well the whole match," Gauff added.
"She was hitting a lot of winners on me, which is something I'm not used to against anybody. So today I was just trying to be aggressive towards the end."
Gauff carried her momentum into the third set, converting a break to go 4-1 up as Jabeur's forehand failed her.
Although Jabeur had her moments with her risk-for-rewards shot-making, she was unable to eliminate her unforced errors, and Gauff sealed the victory on serve when the Tunisian's volley went wide.
Gauff will next face either top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek, who ended her French Open hopes in the 2022 final and last year's quarterfinals, or Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
SportsLigue