COCO GAUFF survived an Ons Jabeur onslaught today to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.
Third seed Gauff fell a set behind as Jabeur, looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the first time, went after the American’s serve from the start and broke for 4-3.
Gauff saved two set points on her own serve but Jabeur finished the job with the ball in her hand, hammering down an ace to clinch it.
Jabeur retrieved an early break in the second but Gauff hit straight back when the Tunisian drilled a forehand wide.
The balance of power had shifted when Jabeur, the eighth seed, dunked a forehand into the net to hand Gauff the double break and the second set.
When US Open champion Gauff broke and then held for 4-1 in the decider, Jabeur had won just two of 11 games.
The Tunisian flags on Court Philippe Chatrier fluttered briefly when she managed a solid hold to love and then moved to 0-30 with a spectacular leaping forehand winner.
But the fightback was quickly snuffed out as 20-year-old Gauff, the runner-up in Paris two years ago, registered a 4-6 6-2 6-3 victory in an hour and 57 minutes.
She said: “Ons is a tough opponent and well loved on tour, I can tell you guys wanted her to win, and when I’m watching her I want her to win too.
“I love playing in this atmosphere. I was just thinking, ‘this is really fun, win or lose.’ I have a lot of love here in Paris too and I really appreciate it.
“I was trying to be more aggressive, she was playing really well the whole match, hitting a lot of winners. I got a little bit tight but I did what I needed to do to win the match.”
But while Gauff took the scenic route to the last four, defending champion Iga Swiatek stayed on easy street.
The world number one double-bageled Anastasia Potapova in round four and quarter-final opponent Marketa Vondrousova must have feared the same fate after Swiatek did not drop a game in racing through the first set.
When she took the opening game of the second set, the 23-year-old from Poland had won 20 games in a row over three matches.
But Vondrousova, the reigning Wimbledon champion and runner-up here in 2019, halted that amazing streak with a hold for 1-1 in the second set.
However, Swiatek went on to wrap up a 19th straight win at Roland Garros 6-0 6-2 in a shade over an hour.
“Honestly I think everything worked,” she said. “I feel I am serving better than in previous rounds so that gave me an extra boost of confidence. I could go with my tactics and not overthink anything.
“Today was pretty straightforward. I’m happy I kept my focus. I wanted to play my game no matter what was coming back from Marketa. I felt I was in the zone today.”
The semi-final showdown with Gauff will be a repeat of the 2022 final, which Swiatek won 6-1 6-3.
“I’ll prepare the same as before any other match and not think about the match as something huge,” she added. “Coco isn’t easy, she likes playing on the clay, especially here.”
