Inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium locker room, one set from elimination and unable to find her timing, Coco Gauff thought about what Frances Tiafoe had done on the same court one night earlier.
Tiafoe had trailed Alex Michelsen by two sets before escaping with a five-set victory. Gauff had watched another American refuse to accept the ending being written for him.
Then she authored her own comeback.
Gauff saved two match points and defeated Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 on Wednesday, advancing to the U.S. Open semifinals after one of the most dramatic victories of her career.
“I think in the restroom, honestly, I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe, how he came back yesterday,” Gauff said during her postmatch court interview.
Frances Tiafoe’s Comeback Gives Gauff Belief
Gauff began the match without her usual command, spraying errors and offering Andreeva too many short points. The fifth-seeded Russian took advantage, controlling the opening set while Gauff searched for her range.
During the break, Gauff tried to reset. Her thoughts turned to Tiafoe, who had recovered from a two-set deficit Tuesday to defeat Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6).
Tiafoe’s comeback took nearly five hours. Michelsen served for the match before Tiafoe turned the quarterfinal around and earned his third U.S. Open semifinal appearance.
Gauff said her goal became simpler after leaving the court: Give the New York crowd everything she had and finish without regret, regardless of the outcome.
Arthur Ashe Stadium responded as her level rose.
Andreeva still reached match point twice during the second-set tiebreak. On one of them, Gauff survived a remarkable 39-shot rally, ending it with a backhand winner that brought the crowd to its feet. She eventually took the tiebreak 9-7 and carried that momentum into the deciding set.
Coco Gauff Finds Her Fight
Gauff broke Andreeva twice in the third set as the frustration moved to the other side of the net. The American sealed the comeback with a forehand winner before turning toward her team and acknowledging how difficult the match had been.
“I think the motto of the match is just to fight,” Gauff said.
She credited her team for remaining composed whenever she looked toward the player box. Gauff acknowledged that she can give them a difficult time when she is stressed, but said their calm presence helped her navigate a day when her best tennis was often missing.
The victory returned the 2023 champion to the U.S. Open semifinals and extended an extraordinary stretch of American comebacks in New York. Tiafoe provided the example. Gauff supplied the sequel.
Her reward is another enormous challenge.
Gauff will face Elena Rybakina, who defeated Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and secured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time. Rybakina’s rise ended Aryna Sabalenka’s 99-week stay atop the rankings.
Rybakina also won their most recent meeting in Toronto, rallying for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
“These are the moments you live for,” Gauff said.
One night after Tiafoe reminded her that a match is never finished until the final point, Gauff proved she had absorbed the lesson.
Coco Gauff Makes Frances Tiafoe Admission After Stunning US Open Comeback