World No. 6 Coco Gauff cruised past compatriot Madison Keys in straight sets in the quarterfinals to reach the last four of the ongoing Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 18-year-old defeated Keys 6-2, 7-5 to reach her third semifinal at the WTA 1000 level or above in her career.
There it is 💪@CocoGauff defeats Keys and goes on to face Swiatek in her second career WTA 1000 semifinal!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/x8rfsqKePA
— wta (@WTA) February 23, 2023
Gauff, who was competing in her 10th quarterfinal across WTA 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments, won 64 points and 25 receiving points against the 28-year-old American.
Keys looked unconvincing from the start with 22 unforced errors, leading to 27 of the 30 points Gauff won in the first set. The latter went on to take 4 of her 5 break points and win 39 service points as she pulled away to victory.
💫 Lindsay Davenport
💫 Venus Williams
💫 Serena Williams
💫 Coco GauffThe only American women to have reached 10 WTA semifinals before turning 19 in the past 30 years 🔥@CocoGauff | #DDFTennis
— wta (@WTA) February 23, 2023
After the game, Gauff expressed her excitement at advancing to the semifinals while adding that the familiarity between her and her opponent played a major role.
“Definitely, I am proud of my returns today. Maddie is a big server, so I was surprised how many returns I was able to get into the court. Even in the second set I missed some, but I think in the first set I returned very well,” she said.
“This is the third time we’ve played against each other, so I think we knew what each other is like. We practised last week together in Doha, so it definitely helps. But sometimes it doesn’t help, because they know what you like to do because they play with you so much. You just have to stick to your game plan,” Gauff added.
The teenage sensation has now won her last seven matches against fellow American players and 12 of her last 13, losing only to Amanda Anisimova at Wimbledon.
Gauff will face a familiar opponent in world No. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinals on Friday. She has yet to defeat or win a set against the Polish titan, having lost in their previous five meetings, including last year’s French Open final.
On meeting Swiatek, who continued her sizzling run of form and cruised past Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, 6-1, 6-0, in 67 minutes, the American said:
“All five times, I did something wrong. To be honest, she’s playing great tennis and there’s a reason she’s world No 1. Tomorrow [Friday] I have no pressure. I just have to play my game — I definitely think I’ve gotten better since the last time I played her.”
“The ranking is just a number, at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.”
The other semi-final will be between giant killer Barbora Krejcikova, who secured a comeback 6-0, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win over reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, and America’s Jessica Pegula, who was granted a walkover.
Will World No. 1 @iga_swiatek continue her dominance or will a new champion stand in her way?
Tune into the final 4️⃣ at @DDFTennis 🔜 #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/kZIXWim9Fr
— wta (@WTA) February 23, 2023
