New York, Sep. 7 (IANS): Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia tallied her 13th straight victory to overcome No.12 Coco Gauff of the United States 6-3, 6-4 and secure a place in the US Open semifinal for the first time on Wednesday (IST).
This is also the No.17 seed Garcia's maiden entry into a major semifinal and the victory extended her current win streak to 13, a streak that began with her victory in Cincinnati.
The 28-year-old will take on No.5 Ons Jabeur in Thursday's last-four clash.
Playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2017, Garcia became the third Frenchwoman in the Open Era to make the US Open semifinals, joining Amelie Mauresmo (2002 and 2006) and Mary Pierce (2005). She will be bidding to become the first Frenchwoman since 2005 to make the final at Flushing Meadows and the first since 2013 to win a major singles title.
Gauff was the favourite in the contest having defeated the Frenchwoman on two previous occasions, the last being on the Doha hard courts earlier this year.
"It was a very intense match," Garcia was quoted as saying by WTA. "Every point, every game was really tough. The atmosphere was really American with a lot of energy out there. I'm just very happy with the performance today, to manage the emotion in my game."
"You're playing someone off the bat, they're standing on top of the baseline and ripping balls, it's not easy," Gauff said. "She (Garcia) has the type of game that you kind of have to adjust to because I feel like it's not hit-or-miss because she definitely makes more, but you're hitting a good serve, and sometimes you're not expecting the ball to come back as fast and as deep as she was hitting it."
Gauff will rue the errors she committed which she would not otherwise commit. The pressure from Garcia was relentless and Gauff's speed and court coverage could not rattle the Frenchwoman as she systematically carved victory. Garcia finished the match in 1 hour and 37 minutes, grossing 24 winners to 22 unforced errors. Gauff finished with 18 winners and 24 unforced errors.
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur made more history here by becoming the first African woman to reach the US Open semifinals, defeating unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Jabeur is currently ranked No.2 in the Race to the WTA Finals and the fifth seed in New York. Her win against Tomljanovic was her 43rd for the year and only top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland has more. She was also the Wimbledon finalist earlier this year.
"I believe in myself after Wimbledon," said Jabeur. "I know that I have it in me to win a (major) final. And here I am in the semifinals."
"Emotionally it was kind of tough to manage the frustration," Jabeur said, referring to a few racquet tosses. "I think I'm going to be fired from my job, as 'Minister of Happiness'. I want to apologise for my behaviour."
Jabeur is the first Arab or African woman to reach the semifinals at the US Open in the Open Era. Previously, she joined Maryna Godwin (1968) and Amanda Coetzer (1994, 1996 and 1998) as the only African women to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open, according to WTA.