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Coco Gauff overcame 10 double-faults and the first set she’s dropped in the tournament to beat Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 at the French Open on Wednesday in Paris, reaching the semifinals for the third time.
It was a contest filled with plenty of mistakes by both Americans, who each has claimed one major championship. They combined for 101 unforced errors and just 40 winners across more than two hours under a closed roof at Court Philippe-Chatrier on a drizzly, chilly day.
The No. 2-seeded Gauff won the 2023 U.S. Open and was the runner-up at the 2022 French Open. She’ll play Thursday for a berth in another Grand Slam final, facing French wild-card entry Lois Boisson.
“I have a lot more work left to do,” said Gauff, who raised her arms overhead then spread them wide apart after the last point against Keys, “but I’m going to savour this one today.”
Boisson upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd at Roland-Garros.
Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd, as excited fans chanted “Lois, Lois” between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager’s errors.
The 22-year-old Boisson became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut Grand Slam tournament since 1989, when Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati both did it at the French Open.
She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999.
She started particularly poorly against Keys, trailing 4-1 and being a point from a 5-1 deficit. Gauff bowed her head or sighed after some miscues. Then, suddenly, she got going, using her speed and instincts to stretch points until Keys — the Australian Open champion in January — missed.
That helped Gauff get within a point of taking that set. But the 21-year-old based in Florida double-faulted three times in the tiebreaker, and soon was headed to the locker room to regroup.
Powerful forehand
That set was sloppy. Gauff had seven winners to 21 unforced errors. Keys has 12 winners to 28 unforced errors, 19 of which arrived from her powerful forehand.
“I knew that I just had to be able to run today and as soon as the ball came short,” Gauff said, “just punish her for it.”
Repeatedly, Gauff scrambled this way or that to get her racket on a shot from Keys that against plenty of other players would end the point. And often enough, it worked well, leading to a miss by Keys, who occasionally admonished herself with a slap on her right leg.
“With her ability to cover the court,” Keys said, “you’re going to have to win the point multiple times before it’s actually over.”
Who plays at Roland-Garros on Thursday?
The two women’s semifinals are the only singles matches on the Day 12 schedule, with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek facing No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in just their second matchup at a Grand Slam tournament, and Gauff meeting Boisson, The men’s semifinals are Friday.
Sinner extends set streak
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner’s overpowering run through the French Open moved into the semifinals with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 victory over No. 62 Alexander Bublik.
Sinner, who lost to champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final four at Roland-Garros a year ago, needed just one hour 49 minutes to advance against Bublik, who upset No. 5 Jack Draper in the previous round.
Not only hasn’t Sinner ceded a set yet, he only has dropped a total of 36 games through five matches over the past 1 1/2 weeks.
And he played clean-as-can-be tennis against Bublik, who was making his major quarterfinal debut, with 31 winners to just 13 unforced errors.
Next for Sinner is a semifinal Friday against either 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic or No. 3 Alexander Zverev, the 2024 runner-up in Paris.
The other men’s semifinal will be No. 2 Alcaraz against No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti. They won their quarterfinals Tuesday.
Sinner, 23, is a three-time Grand Slam champion. That includes last year’s U.S. Open and this year’s Australian Open, so his winning streak at majors is now at 19 matches.
He is the first man from Italy to reach six Slam semifinals.