Gauff beats Andreeva to reach US Open semifinals in comeback win

Coco Gauff sets up US Open semifinal with Elena Rybakina after saving two match points against Mirra Andreeva.American Coco Gauff saved two match points to beat Russian fifth seed ⁠Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), ⁠6-2 on Wednesday and reach the US Open semi-finals after recovering from a dreadful opening set.The 2023 champion had none of her usual firepower at first and was ⁠on the ropes in the tiebreak before she flipped the script and closed out the match with a forehand strike, dropping her racket to the court in joy and relief.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Carrick confident Man Utd can go far in ‘magical’ Champions Leaguelist 2 of 4Liverpool come back to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Champions League openerlist 3 of 4Misfiring Arsenal beat Napoli with Odegaard stunner in Champions Leaguelist 4 of 4Rampant Raphinha nets two goals as Barcelona rout Feyenoordend of listShe faces second seed ⁠Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals.“The motto of the match was just to fight,” said Gauff.Andreeva looked completely at home in New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium as she sprinted through the first four games, never allowing Gauff to set up a break-point chance in the opening set where the Russian had just five unforced errors to ‌14 from her opponent.Gauff, who took a break in the locker room between sets, took inspiration from her compatriot Frances Tiafoe, who recovered from two sets and a breakdown on Tuesday night to reach the semi-finals on the men’s side.“I just had to reset. I came out not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points,” said Gauff. “I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday. And we all want to do well in front ⁠of this crowd.”Gauff finally found some momentum in the second set and ⁠was serving for the match in the ninth game when old issues with her serve resurfaced. She produced three double faults, allowing her opponent to break back.Undeterred, Gauff recovered her poise and deployed a perfectly placed backhand to win a 39-shot ⁠rally, twice saving match point before forcing the third set with a forehand shot to the corner that Andreeva could not contain.