Coco Gauff saves two match points against Andreeva to reach US Open semi-finals

The fourth seed was blown away in a 26-minute opening set before twice being pegged back from a break in a scrappy second, eventually edging a 16-point tie-break 9-7 to force a decider.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, Gauff held her nerve in the deciding set to complete a 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 victory and book a semi-final against incoming world number one Elena Rybakina.

The American said her comeback had been inspired by compatriot Frances Tiafoe's victory over Alex Michelsen on Tuesday night.

"I was watching Frances last night and I saw the way he fought," Gauff said. "I just thought, 'If he can do it, I can do it.'"

The victory gives Gauff back-to-back Grand Slam semi-final appearances and a first at Flushing Meadows since she won the title in 2023.

"At the end of the first set I was thinking about Frances and how he came back yesterday," Gauff said.

"We all want to do well in front of this crowd. Honestly, I was just trying to leave the court with no regrets."

Gauff revealed that in the past, the pressure of the US Open crowd had been a distraction, as she feared putting in a bad performance, but that she has now moved past that.

"I don't have that fear of disappointing them. I'm just using them and knowing that when I step on this court, they're still going to have my back," she said.

Meanwhile, Andreeva's frustration boiled over as she flung her racquet in the final set after hitting 14 unforced errors to Gauff's two.

"I felt like I was holding my emotions for too long, not reacting on a lot of points. At one point I felt like needed to let it out," she said afterwards.

Gauff moves on to a blockbuster US Open semi-final against second seed Elena Rybakina, who ended the run of former Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen with a 3-6 6-1 6-4. 

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