Reigning US Open Champion, Coco Gauff came back from a set down to defeat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to reach her second French Open semi-final on Tuesday.
The American rallied to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier and will face either tournament favorite, Iga Swiatek for a place in the final.
Gauff while speaking to the crowd said Ons Jabeur is 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,” “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.”
It will be Gauff’s third successive Grand Slam semi-final, after also making the last four at the 2024 Australian Open.
Tunisian eighth seed, Jabeur is still waiting for a maiden major title, having lost three finals and four quarter-finals. Jabeur edged a tight first set on her third set point thanks to a break in the seventh game of the match.
But Gauff came back to the game, breaking Jabeur’s serve three times in the second set to force a decider. The 20-year-old grabbed a crucial break in game four and closed out victory on her third match point, as Jabeur fired a simple smash wide, to set up a possible repeat of the 2022 final with Swiatek.
“Today I was trying to be aggressive towards the end and I got a little bit tight on a couple of match points but I think I did what I needed to do to win the match,” she added.
Gauff has lost 10 of her previous 11 meetings with Swiatek, all in straight sets, including in each of the two previous French Opens.
