Gauff edges Keys in three sets to return to the Roland Garros final four

No. 2 seed Coco Gauff recovered after missing a set point in the opener to defeat No. 7 Madison Keys 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 in 2 hours and 11 minutes. She pulled away in the third set to reach the Roland Garros semifinals for the second straight year.

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The loss ends Australian Open champion Madison Keys’ 11-match Grand Slam winning streak and evens her head-to-head with Coco Gauff at 3–3. Gauff hadn’t beaten Keys since Dubai 2023, but she’s now won both of their matchups at the majors, including their 2022 US Open showdown.

Gauff, the 2022 Roland Garros runner-up, advances to her fifth Grand Slam semifinal overall -- three of which have come in Paris. The 21-year-old has now won 25 matches here, and is the youngest player to hit that mark since a 19-year-old Martina Hingis in 2000. She will bid to make a third major final against French wild card Lois Boisson, who continued her fairytale run by stunning Mirra Andreeva in straight sets.

Boisson, the first home semifinalist at Roland Garros since Marion Bartoli in 2011, has been buoyed by fervent crowd support. Gauff is ready for it.

"I have played Jasmine [Paolini] in Rome," she said. "I've played Jasmine and Sara [Errani] in Rome. I've played Caroline [Garcia] and Kristina [Mladenovic] here. So I have some experience playing against a crowd that maybe is not rooting for you. It's something I'm looking forward to if it were to happen.

"I think there are two ways I have [coped with] it in the past. Either, A, just pretend they're cheering for you, and B, just using it and not letting that get to you. I have been in crowds where they are 99% for me, so I don't have an issue with it. I hope everyone will be respectful and things. If not, it's cool.

"I think it makes sports exciting, and I can't get irritated at the fact that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same."

From racquet tension to scoreboard tension: A chillier day in Paris saw play begin with the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof closed. Accordingly, Gauff decided to lower her racquet tension in anticipation of slower conditions, as she told Mats Wilander in her on-court interview.

That turned out to be a mistake. The 2023 US Open champion leaked 11 unforced errors in the first five games to go behind a 4-1 double break.

"I changed [the tension] at 4-1, and after that I had chances to win the first set," Gauff said. "It's difficult to find the tension and how you want to play ... I thought with the roof closed it would play slower, which it did in some moments, but I felt it was quick too. Also, I was playing Madison, so I don't know if that was the reason why!"

Gauff's racquet tension was sorted, but the scoreboard tension would last through most of the match as both players sought to gain momentum in a scrappy affair. From 4-1 down, Gauff reeled off four straight games to lead 5-4 -- but Keys found a forehand winner to save set point, then took advantage of three Gauff double faults to edge the ensuing tiebreak.

In the second set, it was Gauff's turn to lead 4-1 with a double break, only to be pegged back as Keys responded with a three-game run. But at 4-4, Gauff pulled off her best shot of the match -- an angled backhand pass off a Keys smash -- paving the way to break again.

This time, Gauff didn't let up. From 4-4, she won eight of the next nine games; and from 2-1 in the decider, she ran through 17 of the last 22 points, repeatedly out-foxing Keys with drop shots.

Both players' accuracy had been in-and-out throughout the match: Keys tallied 25 winners to 60 unforced errors, while Gauff found 15 winners to 41 unforced errors (including 10 double faults). But in the third set, it was Gauff who managed to tighten up her game, committing only two unforced errors to Keys' 16 in seven games.

The will to win: Gauff's ability to remain dialled into a match despite a stat sheet that might suggest an off day -- "winning ugly", as former coach Brad Gilbert put it -- has become something of her calling card. In some tight moments -- though not against Keys -- she still draws on the memory of an old junior match in which she came back to win from 6-1, 5-1 down.

"At times in matches I have thought about that," she said. "Just that I have had that in me from a young age. When times become more difficult, knowing that I can dig deep in those tough moments ... I think just a love to win, the will to win. It's not something that's taught or anything. It's just I have always had that in me, and not just in tennis but in everything. I'm a very competitive person.

"My philosophy is if I can just leave it all out there, then the loss will hurt a lot less than regrets of maybe not giving it your all."