Coco Gauff advanced to her first Wimbledon semifinal on Tuesday, overcoming fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a quarterfinal match lasting one hour and 48 minutes. The former French Open champion now has a chance to claim her second Grand Slam title.
Gauff Joins Elite Group
With the victory, Gauff became the seventh active women's player to reach the semifinals or beyond in all four Grand Slam events. She joins Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek on that exclusive list.
The 22-year-old dropped the first set but rallied to win the next two, demonstrating resilience that has characterized her tournament run. Gauff has played four three-set matches in her last five outings, including a comeback from a set down against Belinda Bencic in the round of 16.
Grass Court Turnaround
Gauff described her Wimbledon performance as "pretty insane" given that she entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak on grass. "Considering I had not won a match on grass in two years before this tournament ... I am definitely just really happy with how I played today," she said after the match.
She acknowledged the challenge of facing Pegula, saying, "Jess is an incredible opponent and person; playing against her is never easy. I am just happy to get through this one today."
Strategic Adjustments
Reflecting on her performance, Gauff noted she was rushing early in the first set. "I felt like in the first set I was maybe rushing out of some points too early, either trying to get out of the rally or overhit too much," she said. "Towards the end, I just really honed in on my game and realised I do not have to play a spectacular point every time to win, even though there were some spectacular points."
She emphasized self-belief as key: "I think just trusting myself, trusting that my groundstrokes are good enough to be with anyone on this surface. I think my last match against Belinda showed that. Obviously, today against Jess I think showed that, as well."
Next Opponent: Karolina Muchova
Gauff will face 10th seed Karolina Muchova in the semifinals, a matchup that favors the American historically. Gauff holds a dominant 6-1 win-loss record against Muchova, making her the favorite to advance to the final.
