Comeback kid Gauff shows fortitude against Jabeur

Down a set, Gauff had no choice but to dig in and face the music, and the 20-year-old did just that, putting every ounce of her mental toughness on display as she turned the momentum and quieted the crowd en route to an impressive 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph and a second career semi-final appearance on the Parisian clay. 

Story of the match 

Blue skies and barely a breeze made for perfect playing conditions in the opening set, and Jabeur took full advantage. Gauff started well, keeping it on serve until 3-3 but was ultimately twisted in knots by Jabeur’s shotmaking chicanery as the 29-year-old took control of the set when she converted her second break point of the seventh game to lead 4-3.

Under pressure often, Gauff saved another pair of break points to hold for 4-5, but the No.8 seed quickly closed the set with an ace down the T. 

A different American was on show at the start of the second set and the turnaround commenced quickly, with Gauff emerging from a break as a more aggressive player. The Florida native, who had committed 14 unforced errors in the opening set and hit only two baseline winners, started to take the play to Jabeur.

She cracked nine winners in the middle set and converted all three break points she earned to force a decider. 

Now confidently clicking through the gears, the No.3 seed moved ahead with a break for 3-1 in the final set and held off a late fightback from Jabeur, who saved a match point while serving at 2-5, and had a break point to get back on serve.

Much to her chagrin, the break chance evaporated when Jabeur floated her forehand return long for deuce - opportunity wasted, but it wouldn't be the last.

The Tunisian kept the crowd engaged until the end, saving a second Gauff match point with trademark brilliance – an overhead drop volley that whipped the crowd to a frenzy – but she badly missed on an overhead on Gauff’s third match point to end proceedings in one hour and 57 minutes.

Key stats

Gauff improves to 6-4 at the Grand Slams in matches in which she has dropped the opening set since 2023 – proof that her mental toughness and self-belief are growing as she matures. 

The American has won four of the last five times she has dropped the opening set at the majors, with her only loss coming to Aryna Sabalenka at this year’s Australian Open. 

Gauff turned the match around by drilling down on the forehand side. Jabeur looked to exploit that wing throughout the match, but only had big success with the tactic in the opening set. 

The splits tell that story. Gauff hit one forehand winner in the opening set, but added seven across the final two sets. The 2022 Roland-Garros runner-up made eight forehand unforced errors in the opening set, but gave Jabeur just seven more for the rest of the match. 

Gauff also hit a 205kph serve (127.4mph), which is the fastest serve hit by a woman at Roland-Garros this year. She finished with three aces on the day and saved six of eight break points overall. 

According to the WTA, at 20 years and 82 days Gauff has become the youngest player to reach three or more consecutive women’s singles semi-finals at Grand Slam events since Maria Sharapova in 2007.

With her 30th win of the season (30-8), Gauff improves to 20-4 lifetime at Roland-Garros. She will face either three-time champion Iga Swiatek or Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-finals. 

Coco's take on things

On facing Jabeur: “She’s a great opponent and she’s well-loved on tour. I could tell by the crowd today – I know you guys wanted her to win. Honestly, whenever she’s not playing me, I cheer for her, too.” 

On her fans: “There were two people sitting behind my bench, and they were cheering for me, not loudly, but I could hear them and it helped me. I know I have a lot of love here in Paris, trust me I know, and I hope you guys can help me make it through the next round.” 

On how she flipped the script: “I was definitely trying to be more aggressive. She was playing really well the whole match and she was hitting a lot of winners on me, which is something I’m not used to against anybody, so today I was just trying to be aggressive towards the end. I got a little bit tight on the last couple of match points but I think I did what I needed to do to win the match.” 

Assessment from the commentators 

“She competed like an absolute champion today.” – Three-time Grand Slam winner Lindsay Davenport on Gauff’s win. 

“Her legs got her through this match, and her guts,” 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova. 

“Gauff just seems like she’s in a different space competitively right now,” Davenport on Gauff’s chances if she faces Swiatek again in the semis.