Gauff battles past Keys to reach semi-finals

French Open 2025

Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros

Coverage: Live power commentaries crossed 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, positive unrecorded matter commentaries connected nan BBC Sport website and app

World number 2 Coco Gauff praised her "will to win" aft she overcame a scrappy commencement to hit chap American Madison Keys and scope nan semi-finals of nan French Open.

Gauff won 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1 nether nan tile connected Court Phillippe Chatrier to scope her 3rd semi-final astatine Roland Garros.

Both players were good beneath their champion but Gauff yet recovered her hit precocious successful nan 2nd group and kicked connected to predominate successful nan third.

Asked astir her fighting spirit, Gauff, 21, said: "I deliberation conscionable a emotion to win, nan will to triumph - I person ever had that successful me, and not conscionable successful tennis but successful everything. I'm a very competitory person.

"My accuracy is if I tin conscionable time off it each retired there, past nan nonaccomplishment will wounded a batch little than regrets of possibly not giving it your all."

Gauff, who won nan French Open doubles title alongside Czech Katerina Siniakova successful 2024, will look world number 361 Lois Boisson successful nan semi-finals aft nan French wildcard defeated Mirra Andreeva successful consecutive sets.

Gauff has fared good connected clay truthful acold this year, reaching back-to-back finals successful Madrid and Rome wherever she missed retired connected titles to Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively.

A nervy commencement saw Gauff and Keys waste and acquisition early breaks but Keys settled quickly arsenic her rival continued to flounder, opening up a 4-1 lead.

To Gauff's credit, she fought her measurement backmost into proceedings and held group point, but Australian Open champion Keys came done successful nan tie-break.

Unforced errors started to creep into Keys' crippled during nan 2nd group and she quickly recovered herself connected nan backfoot astatine a double break down.

But conscionable arsenic Gauff had successful nan first set, Keys cancelled retired nan advantage, only for her force to level nan lucifer pinch different break and a hold.

Gauff had conceded 9 double faults crossed nan opening 2 sets but it was Keys who vanished nan lucifer pinch 60 unforced errors disconnected her racquet, compared to Gauff's 41.

That yet proved to beryllium nan quality arsenic Gauff, having yet recovered her serve, raced done nan deciding set.

"It wasn't an easy lucifer and I'm very happy to get done it," she said.

"[Keys] is evidently a very awesome subordinate and her forehand is astir apt 1 of nan best, if not nan best, connected tour.

"I knew that I conscionable had to beryllium capable to tally today. As soon arsenic nan shot came short, I knew I had to punish her for it."

It is nan 3rd clip Gauff - nan 2023 US Open champion - has beaten Keys successful six meetings and marked nan first clip she has beaten nan 30-year-old connected clay.

Gauff has mislaid to nan eventual victor connected each of her past 4 appearances astatine nan French Open and if she tin get done her semi-final, she will look either defending champion Iga Swiatek aliases world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka successful nan final.