The final women's quarterfinal at the
US Open delivered another dramatic comeback, as
Coco Gauff recovered from a one-set deficit to defeat
Mirra Andreeva and reach the semifinals in New York. The Russian made a flying start in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, but Gauff gradually found her rhythm and turned the match around after a chaotic second set.
Andreeva had looked firmly in control early on, but Gauff's resilience eventually proved decisive. The American survived a tight second-set tiebreak before taking control of the deciding set, sending the home crowd into celebration and keeping her bid for a second US Open title alive. She will now face Elena Rybakina in the semifinals.
Andreeva dominates the opening set
The match began with clear dominance from Andreeva, to the surprise of the home crowd. The Russian immediately put Gauff under pressure, taking advantage of a series of errors from the American to secure the first break. Andreeva was striking the ball cleanly from the baseline and was able to dictate many of the early exchanges, preventing Gauff from settling into her usual rhythm.
The pressure continued as Andreeva broke again to move into a commanding 4-0 lead, leaving a stunned Arthur Ashe Stadium unusually quiet. Gauff finally managed to defend her serve for the first time, but the American's response was not enough to change the direction of the set. She began finding more consistency as the games progressed, yet Andreeva remained comfortable enough on serve to keep her opponent at arm's length.
Gauff could not create a break-point opportunity against the Russian, allowing Andreeva to maintain her advantage and close out the opening set 6-2 in just 27 minutes. It was an emphatic start from the French Open champion, who had immediately put the defending US Open champion in an unfamiliar position and forced her to find a way back into the match.
Gauff turns the match into a rollercoaster
The second set began in much more even fashion as Gauff gradually settled into the match. She held her opening service games despite facing break points and managed to maintain parity at 2-2, although she missed her first opportunity to break Andreeva. The American then surprisingly moved ahead during a chaotic sequence of exchanged breaks, putting herself in position to serve for the set at 5-3.
Gauff even had a set point on her own serve, but Andreeva fought back to level at 5-5 and force a tiebreak. The Russian recovered from a mini-break deficit and earned a couple of match points, but could not convert them. Gauff increasingly targeted Andreeva's forehand, while the American's backhand became more reliable as the tiebreak progressed. That combination finally paid off, with Gauff taking it 8-6 to level the match.
It was an extremely error-filled set from both players. Gauff produced nine double faults in the second set alone, compared with four from Andreeva, while the pair combined for 49 unforced errors — 23 from Andreeva and 26 from Gauff — against just 23 winners. Gauff's ability to survive that chaos and take the tiebreak ultimately changed the direction of the match.
Gauff takes control in the decider
Gauff carried the momentum from the second-set tiebreak into the decider and immediately looked more settled from the baseline. She broke Andreeva early to move ahead 3-1, putting the Russian under pressure after Andreeva had controlled much of the opening set.
Andreeva continued to fight and remained aggressive, particularly when targeting Gauff's forehand, but the American was now making fewer mistakes and finding more consistency in the longer exchanges. Gauff eventually secured a second break to move within touching distance of victory, leaving Andreeva with little room to respond.
Gauff then held her nerve to serve out the set 6-2 and complete the comeback. The American celebrated emphatically as Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted around her, with the defending champion advancing to the semifinals and keeping her hopes of a second US Open title alive.