Coco Gauff Reaches First Grand Slam Semi-Final At French Open

Gauff, 18 years old and ranked 23 in the world, triumphed 7-5, 6-2. She will face Italy's 59th-ranked Martina Trevisan for a place in Saturday's championship match.

Coco Gauff reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open on Tuesday when she defeated fellow American Sloane Stephens. Gauff, 18 years old and ranked 23 in the world, triumphed 7-5, 6-2. She will face Italy's 59th-ranked Martina Trevisan for a place in Saturday's championship match. Victory avenged her defeat to Stephens at the US Open and helped erase the memory of her quarter-final defeat last year to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in Paris.

"I feel so happy," said Gauff. "Last year was a tough loss for me but I believe that match made me stronger.

"Last time I played Sloane I lost. Today was different. I stayed mentally strong as she is the kind of player who can make shots others can't do."

On Tuesday, Gauff broke in the second game of the match to lead 3-0 before 2018 runner-up Stephens levelled with a break and hold for 5-5.

However, clean, precise hitting allowed Gauff to dominate the 12th game to clinch the opener.