Fourth seed Coco Gauff secured a decisive victory over seventh seed Mirra Andreeva in their Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
Gauff overcame a deficit in the first set, trailing 5-4 and facing two set points. However, the American responded strongly, winning nine of the next ten games to claim the match with a 7-5, 6-1 scoreline after 1 hour and 32 minutes on court.
Upcoming Match: Swiatek Awaits
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, is now set to face her frequent rival, Iga Swiatek, in the semifinals. Swiatek, the defending Madrid champion and a five-time Grand Slam winner, holds an 11-3 advantage in their head-to-head encounters.
Gauff initially lost her first seven matches against Swiatek (spanning 14 sets) before finally securing her first win in Cincinnati in 2023. She has since won their last two meetings, including one this year at the United Cup, but is yet to defeat Swiatek on a clay court, which is considered Swiatek`s preferred surface.
Historical Significance: Youngest WTA 1000 Quarterfinal Since 2009
This match marked the second-youngest combined age of opponents in a WTA 1000 quarterfinal since the tier`s inception in 2009. Only the 2009 Indian Wells quarterfinal featuring Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska had younger participants.
The 21-year-old Gauff defeated the 18-year-old Andreeva (who celebrated her birthday just the day before). This victory puts Gauff into her ninth career WTA 1000 semifinal, her third on clay. Her previous clay WTA 1000 semifinal appearances were both in Rome (2021 and 2024), where she was defeated by Iga Swiatek on both occasions.
By reaching the final four in Madrid, Gauff becomes the second-youngest player to achieve semifinal berths in both the Madrid and Rome tournaments. Only Caroline Wozniacki reached this milestone at a younger age, doing so while still 20.
The win over Andreeva also represents the 25th Top 10 victory of Gauff`s career. At her age, she is the youngest player to reach 25 Top 10 wins since Ana Ivanovic achieved the feat at age 20 in 2008.
Match Turning Point
The momentum initially swung Andreeva`s way when she broke Gauff without losing a point to lead 5-4 in the first set. The young Russian seemed poised to take the set, holding two set points in the subsequent game.
A crucial backhand winner from Gauff saved the first set point, seemingly shifting her mindset. She then composed herself in baseline exchanges, working her way to two break points. Capitalizing on her second opportunity with a forehand winner on a short ball, Gauff leveled the set at 5-5.
From that moment, Gauff appeared transformed. She held her serve efficiently to go up 6-5, then broke Andreeva`s serve to love, securing the first set.
Gauff continued her dominance in the second set, impressively not losing a single point on her serve (a streak of 15 points) until she held triple match point at 5-1, 40-0. A long error was her only slight stumble before she sealed the victory on her second match point.
