Gauff recovers to beat Jabeur & reach semis

Third-seeded American Coco Gauff reached the semi-finals of the French Open after recovering to beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in an exciting competition.

Gauff, 20, demonstrated her maturity and mentality to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at Roland Garros on Tuesday.

After a magnificent first set against Jabeur, the eighth seed, Gauff continued to believe in her game and took advantage of her opponent’s drop in level.

Gauff failed to convert a match point on Jabeur’s serve at 5-2 in the decider, and survived a break point at 5-3, before crossing the line when her opponent hit a long shot.

A passionate roar as the US Open champion celebrated at mid-court indicated the magnitude of the ordeal she had undergone.

“She’s a tough opponent,” said Gauff, who watched Jabeur save a second match point before missing the third.

“I was trying to be more aggressive, she was playing very well and hitting a lot of winners, something I’m not used to.

“I tried to be aggressive and got a little tense, but I did what I had to do.”

Gauff, who was runner-up in 2022, is aiming for her second major title after winning the title in New York last year.

She will face either Polish top seed Iga Swiatek, who beat her in the final two years ago, or Czech fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-finals.

More to follow.