Andreeva Goes Down Fighting, and Gauff Shows Why She Still Owns the US Open
A score of 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 doesn't tell the story of a quarterfinal that had a comeback, cool nerves and plenty of tennis. It serves as a warning for the future.
The scoreboard says 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 for Coco Gauff. The story it hides is far more interesting. Andreeva started off running away with it, lost the second set in a tie-break 9-7, and in the third couldn’t hold off the American’s comeback. Anyone who saw only the result might think it was easy. It wasn’t.
This Gauff comeback has a value that goes beyond a spot in the semifinal. She beat an opponent who had already proven, in the quarterfinals against Potapova, that she isn’t intimidated in a big match. Andreeva opened up 6-2 with the authority of a veteran. Gauff didn’t fall apart. She saved the second set through grit, on the margins, and turned the match around in the third. It’s that kind of response that separates a champion from a prospect.
Andreeva’s defeat doesn’t diminish the size of her campaign. Losing to Gauff in New York, in a tie-break in the second set, is going down fighting. The Russian showed once again that she has a high ceiling. It’s just that, today, Gauff’s ceiling was a little higher.
And you can’t let it pass: Gauff reaches the US Open semifinal for the third time. It’s not luck, it’s not an easy draw. It’s consistency. Meanwhile, Andreeva leaves with the feeling that she came up just short. And she did. One tie-break.
What to watch now? Gauff in the semifinal. If anyone thought the American wasn’t the favorite, this comeback changes the picture. She is, yes, a title contender.