Coco Gauff

Gauff beat Sloane Stephens to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first time in her career.

Stephens, 29, is now based in the Boston area, but she was long based in South Florida, like Gauff and her family, and knew them well enough to attend Gauff’s 10th birthday party. She can extend points like few players in the game with her quickness and defensive skills, and can also finish them with her terrific two-handed backhand and increasingly with her forehand, long her weaker wing. Unlike some teen prodigies, Gauff did not soar to the top of women’s tennis in a hurry. She won the French Open girls’ title at age 14, a year before her breakthrough run in 2019 as a qualifier at Wimbledon, where she defeated one of her role models, Venus Williams, in her first main-draw match at the All England Club. At 13, she was the youngest U.S. Open girls’ singles finalist in history. A year ago, Gauff faced Barbora Krejcikova, a then-unseeded doubles specialist, in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and lost, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

The 18-year-old American downed former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens in straight sets Tuesday.

“I was playing to get to a semifinal, and I still had a set in front of me, so I had to start from scratch.” “I was very tired and I had to go to the bathroom. About two months beforehand, Trevisan wrote a blog post that discussed in detail her experience with anorexia as a teenager. Fernandez was treated by a trainer for a problem with her right foot after the match’s fifth game and her movement was hampered throughout. “I know no matter how good or bad my career is, I know I’m a good person, so I think that’s a good message for young people. “It was just a mental challenge today,” said Gauff, who began this trip to Paris by taking photos near the Eiffel Tower while holding her recently earned high school diploma.

Gauff, 18, ousted fellow American Sloane Stephens and still hasn't dropped a set in Paris.

Fernandez, 19, appeared to injure her right ankle during the first set against Trevisan and summoned the trainer, but she played on. “I did feel [the foot issue] before the match, but I didn’t think much of it,” she said. “Obviously you can see someone and look at them and watch them and tell they have whatever it takes to be a top player.” “No matter how good or bad my career is, I think I’m a great person, and that’s a message to all young players,” she said. Rather than let it unsettle her, she got more aggressive and creative with her ground game, varying her tactics and pace to disrupt Stephens until she reclaimed the momentum. They had met on court just once before, with Stephens scoring a straight-sets victory at the U.S. Open last year.

Coco Gauff bests fellow American Sloane Stephens in their French Open quarterfinal match to reach the semifinals, where Gauff will face Italian Martina ...

"I was playing to get to a semifinal, and I still had a set in front of me, so I had to start from scratch." She had the foot taped during a medical timeout after the fifth game, trailing 3-2. "I was very tired and I had to go to the bathroom. The reset worked wonders. Stephens missed a backhand volley to hand Gauff her first set-point opportunity. "I know no matter how good or bad my career is, I know I'm a good person, so I think that's a good message for young people.