Coco Gauff of the U.S. clenches her fist after scoring a point against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur during their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PARIS (AP) – Coco Gauff came back to defeat Ons Jabeur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at the French Open on Tuesday to reach the semifinals at a third consecutive Grand Slam tournament.
Gauff won her first major title at the U.S. Open in September, then made it to the final four at the Australian Open in January.
The 20-year-old American is seeded No. 3 at Roland Garros, where she was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Gauff could get a rematch in the semifinals against the top-ranked Swiatek, who has won three of the past four titles in Paris.
Swiatek’s quarterfinal against 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was scheduled for later Tuesday on Court Philippe Chatrier.
With the crowd at the main stadium loudly supporting Jabeur at times, Gauff did not play badly in the opening set. But No. 8 seed Jabeur – a three-time major finalist – was superb, winning 17 of 18 first-serve points, never facing a single break point and accumulating a 12-5 edge in total winners.
When she delivered an ace at 114 mph (184 kph) to end the set, Jabeur nodded repeatedly.
But Gauff got going after that, raising her level and playing more aggressively. She put in 16 winners over the last two sets, while breaking serve four times.
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