Gauff recovers to beat Jabeur & reach semis

American third seed Coco Gauff reached the French Open semi-finals after recovering to beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in an absorbing contest.

Gauff, 20, showed her maturity and mentality to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 at Roland Garros on Tuesday.

After a superb opening set from eighth seed Jabeur, Gauff continued to believe in her game and took advantage of her opponent’s level dipping.

Gauff was unable to convert a match point on Jabeur’s serve at 5-2 in the decider, and survived a break point at 5-3, before getting over the line when her opponent dumped an overhead long.

A passionate roar as the US Open champion celebrated in the middle of the court indicated the magnitude of the test she had come through.

“She’s a tough opponent,” said Gauff, who saw Jabeur save a second match point before missing on the third.

“I was trying to be more aggressive, she was playing really well and hitting a lot of winners – which I’m not used to.

“I tried to be aggressive and I got a little bit tight but I did what I needed to do.”

Gauff, who was the runner-up in 2022, is aiming for her second major title after claiming the title in New York last year.

She will play Polish top seed Iga Swiatek, who beat her in the final two years ago, or Czech fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova in the last four.