Gauff Saves Match Points Against Andreeva, Reaches US Open Semis

Down a Set, Facing Match Points — Gauff Refuses to Go

Nobody inside Arthur Ashe Stadium had scripted the quarter-final quite like this. Coco Gauff, the 2023 champion and the crowd's favourite at the 2026 US Open, found herself a set down and staring at match points against 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the tie-break of the second set. She saved them. She won the tie-break. She then won the third set 6-2 without blinking. Final score: 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 — and one of the most dramatic quarter-finals this tournament has produced in years.

Andreeva Takes Control from the Opening Ball

There was no gentle start to this match. Andreeva — who had already won a place in the hearts of this crowd earlier in the week when she paused play to attend to an injured Anastasia Potapova before her own first US Open quarter-final — came out with a sharpness and composure that Gauff could not immediately match. The young Russian controlled the rallies, struck cleanly from both wings, and took the opening set 6-2 in a manner that had the home crowd uncharacteristically quiet. The match looked to be heading in a very different direction than the script had anticipated.

Into the second set Andreeva continued in the same vein. She pushed Gauff back, disrupted her rhythm, and at the critical moment — the tie-break — took hold of the match completely. With match points on her racquet, a remarkable win over the defending champion appeared within her grasp.

The Tie-Break That Changed Everything

What happened next was a crystallisation of everything that makes Gauff a Grand Slam champion. Facing elimination, playing in front of a crowd collectively holding its breath, she found a way. She saved the match points with a combination of precise serving and clean groundstrokes at the most pressurised moments, dragged the tie-break back from the brink and eventually claimed it, taking the second set to level the match. The roar from the Arthur Ashe crowd when she pulled even was something the players in the adjacent courts would have heard clearly.

Andreeva, having been so close, had little left to give in the third set. Gauff, her momentum fully restored, raised her level to something near her best: fluid movement, dictating exchanges from the baseline, converting every opportunity. She closed out the third set 6-2 with the controlled authority of a player who knew the match was now hers to decide.

WTAWuhan loses 11 players, including Rybakina and defending champion Gauff

Rybakina Awaits in Saturday's Semi-Final

Gauff will face Elena Rybakina — who secured the world number one ranking after her quarter-final win over Qinwen Zheng — in the semi-finals. The matchup is one of genuine quality on both sides: Rybakina brings a flat, powerful serve and penetrating groundstrokes perfectly suited to the hard surface; Gauff counters with movement, variety and the energy of a player competing at her home Grand Slam with a crowd that will be firmly behind her.

Andreeva exits this tournament with enormous credit. She played the best tennis of the match for a set and a half, reached match points against a Grand Slam champion, and competed with the composure of someone far more experienced. At 18, she will return here. For Gauff, Thursday was a reminder that even champions have to earn it — sometimes on the very last point available. She earned it. Rybakina is next.