Fourth seed Coco Gauff achieved a significant quarterfinal victory over seventh seed Mirra Andreeva at the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday, overcoming a first-set deficit.
Gauff trailed 5-4 in the opening set and faced two set points, but the American completely turned the match around from that moment. She proceeded to win nine of the subsequent ten games, securing a dominant 7-5, 6-1 win in 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Upcoming Semifinal Against Swiatek
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, is now set to face her frequent opponent, Iga Swiatek, in the semifinals. Swiatek, the defending Madrid champion and a five-time Grand Slam winner, currently leads their head-to-head record 11-3.
Their rivalry began with Swiatek winning the first seven matches (14 consecutive sets) before Gauff claimed her first victory at Cincinnati in 2023. The American has won their last two encounters, including this year`s match at the United Cup. However, Gauff is still seeking her first win against Swiatek on clay, a surface favored by the Pole.
Historical Youthful Quarterfinal
This quarterfinal match was notable for featuring the second-youngest combined age of players at this stage of a WTA 1000 tournament since the tier was introduced in 2009. Only the 2009 Indian Wells quarterfinal between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska had a younger combined age.
Gauff, listed as 21, defeated Andreeva, who was reported to have turned 18 on Tuesday. This result sends Gauff into her ninth WTA 1000 semifinal and her third on clay. Her previous clay-court WTA 1000 semifinal appearances were in Rome (2021 and 2024), where she lost to Iga Swiatek on both occasions.
By reaching the Madrid final four, Gauff becomes the second-youngest player to have made semifinal appearances in both the Madrid and Rome WTA 1000 events. Caroline Wozniacki holds the record for achieving this milestone at a younger age, having done so before turning 21.
The victory over Andreeva also marks Gauff`s 25th career win against a Top 10 ranked player. She is the youngest player to reach 25 Top 10 wins since Ana Ivanovic accomplished the feat in 2008 at age 20.
The Turning Point
The turning point in the match came in the first set when Andreeva broke Gauff`s serve at love to take a 5-4 lead. The young player seemed poised to take control, reaching double set point in the following game.
However, Gauff saved the first set point with a crucial backhand winner, appearing to shift the momentum. She then displayed tenacity in rallies, battling for two break points. On her second chance, Gauff hit a forehand winner off a short ball to break back and level the score at 5-5.
Following this pivotal moment, Gauff`s level rose significantly. She held her serve to take a 6-5 lead and then broke Andreeva`s serve to love, clinching the first set.
Gauff dominated the second set, notably winning 15 consecutive points on her serve until facing triple match point at 5-1, 40-0. Although she missed a forehand long on the first match point, this was her only late misstep before she closed out the win on her second opportunity.
