Coco Gauff beats Ons Jabeur to reach French open semi-finals
World number three Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur on Tuesday, securing her place in the French Open semi-finals for the second time.
Gauff, the reigning US Open champion and former Roland Garros runner-up, won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
She will face either top seed Iga Swiatek or Marketa Vondrousova for a spot in the final.
“She’s a tough opponent and she’s well loved on tour and I could tell by the crowd you guys wanted her to win.
When I’m not playing, I do too,” Gauff told the crowd, who had been largely supporting Jabeur.
“I like playing in atmospheres like this. I know you wanted her to win but even when I was in the bathroom, I was thinking this is really fun, win or lose.”
This marks the American star’s third consecutive Grand Slam semi-final, following her run to the last four at this year’s Australian Open.
Tunisian eighth seed Jabeur remains in pursuit of her first major title, having lost three finals and four quarter-finals.
Jabeur took the first set on her third set point after a crucial break in the seventh game.
However, Gauff dominated the second set with three service breaks, forcing a decider.
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In the final set, the 20-year-old Gauff secured a critical break in the fourth game and clinched victory on her third match point as Jabeur missed an easy smash.
“Today I was trying to be aggressive towards the end and I got a little bit tight on the couple of match points, but I think I did what I needed to do to win the match,” Gauff said.
Gauff has struggled against Swiatek in the past, losing 10 of their 11 encounters, all in straight sets, including in each of the last two French Opens.
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