Coco Gauff has reached the last four at Wimbledon for the first time, adding the grass-court major to the deep runs she has made everywhere else. On Tuesday she came from a set down to beat Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an all-American quarterfinal on Centre Court, ESPN reported.
A comeback, again
The win followed a pattern Gauff has leaned on all fortnight. She lost the opening set, then steadied and took control, closing out the last two 6-3, 6-3. It was, by her own account, familiar territory. "I've been going three sets almost every match," she said, according to ESPN. "When you have that faith in yourself as a competitor ... when you lose one set, you're not panicking."
A milestone at 22
The victory carried a piece of history. At 22, Gauff became the youngest player to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slam events since Sharapova did so at the 2007 French Open, ESPN reported. A U.S. Open and French Open champion already, she had reached the semifinals or better at the other majors; Wimbledon had been the gap on her résumé, and now it is filled.
What's next
Gauff will play for a place in Saturday's final against the winner of the quarterfinal between Naomi Osaka and Karolina Muchova, ESPN reported. Either would be a stern test, but Gauff arrives in the semifinals having shown, match after match, that a lost set has not been enough to rattle her. For one of the sport's brightest American stars, a first Wimbledon final is now two wins away.
