Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time after beating former doubles partner Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an all-American Centre Court clash on Tuesday.
The seventh seed and two-time Grand Slam winner, now the highest ranked player left in the women’s singles draw, was on the back foot from the start against a fourth-seeded opponent who broke her in the opening game.
Gauff got things under control in the second set, although she still had to survive two break points in the opening game, and halved the number of unforced errors as she fought back to break Pegula for 5-3 and hold serve.
ALSO READ:Why was Zverev’s fourth round match round suspended?
The former US and French Open winner led the match for the first time when she broke Pegula to go 2-1 up in the final set. Her opponent broke back to 3-3 but Gauff replied with another immediate break for 4-3, held serve and then Pegula fell at the first match point.
“Pretty insane, honestly” was Gauff’s immediate reaction to the win. “Considering how I hadn’t won a match on grass in two years before this tournament I’m definitely just really happy with how I played today.”
“It feels really special considering the results I’ve had of late and just especially on this surface,” said the 22-year-old, who will face Karolina Muchova for a place in Saturday’s final.
“I’m able to relax a bit because, I feel regardless of how the rest of this tournament goes, I really think I’ve found a bit of a breakthrough on grass.
“Obviously I’m not satisfied. I want to go all the way.”
Comments
Published on Jul 07, 2026