Coco Gauff storms into semifinals for first time in Indian Wells
Coco Gauff needed to survive a third-set tiebreaker to win her first match at the BNP Paribas Open this year. Now she's one win away from the final.
Gauff, who turned 20 on Wednesday, fought past Yue Yuan 6-4, 6-3 in a quarterfinal Thursday afternoon to make her first semifinal in Indian Wells.
The reigning U.S. Open champ played on Stadium 2, but probably had more fans on her side than she knew. She played at the same time as the Carlos Alcaraz vs. Alexander Zverev match on Stadium 1, which was suspended due to a bee invasion. So the crowd seated inside Stadium 1 was treated to the Gauff-Yuan match on the big screens and they were roaring and groaning along, with the bulk of the supporters rooting for the American.
Gauff said after the match that she and Yuan were not aware of what was happening on Stadium 1.
Gauff's win edges her ever closer to ending what has been a frustrating stretch for American women at this event. No player from the United States has won the women's singles title here in 23 years, since Serena Williams won in 2001, three years before Gauff was born.
The last American woman to make the semifinals in Indian Wells was Venus Williams in 2018.
"Yeah, I'm really happy to be through today's match. It wasn't the best style of the serving, but overall I think when it comes to the groundstroke game and returns, everything else, honestly, I played well," Gauff said. "I just try and take the positives into the next match."
Gauff will play Maria Sakkari, who ousted American Emma Navarro 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, in a semifinal match Friday.
This was Yuan's first Masters 1000 quarterfinal, and she pushed Gauff who was the highest-ranked player she's ever faced. It was a straight-set win, but neither set was easy.
Gauff said it was the type of match she might have lost in years past, but she's learned how to adjust when something isn't working.
"I definitely think it's one of those matches I could have lost, and I have lost before in the past," Gauff said. "I think for me the difference is that, you know, I know if one part of my game is off I have a lot of other tools I can rely on. Today I pretty much just relied on me just out-rallying her and being aggressive."
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coco Gauff storms into semifinals for first time in Indian Wells
