Gauff reaches her first Wimbledon semi-final after fighting past Pegula
The No. 7 seed fought back from a set down to beat Jessica Pegula and will meet Karolina Muchova in the last four.
Coco Gauff has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time, fighting out of an early hole to beat fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a tense Centre Court quarter-final on Tuesday.
The No. 7 seed looked in trouble as her serve wobbled through a ragged opening set, handing fourth seed Pegula the lead. But Gauff, 22, steadied exactly as she had two rounds earlier against Belinda Bencic: lose the first set, then refuse to lose another. She took the final two sets and was ruthless on the big points, converting five of five break chances while Pegula managed only three of seven.
It was the second match running that Gauff had rescued after dropping the opener, and it carries her into the last four at the All England Club for the first time. Already a Grand Slam champion elsewhere, she has long found grass the least forgiving surface for her game; this fortnight she has turned it into a strength.
Waiting in the semi-final is Karolina Muchova, who has yet to drop a set all tournament and ended Naomi Osaka's resurgent run 7-6, 6-4 in the other Tuesday quarter-final. Osaka had been one of the stories of the week after toppling world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, but Muchova's variety and touch proved too much.
The bottom half of the draw is settled on Wednesday, when No. 9 seed Linda Noskova meets No. 25 Elise Mertens and No. 12 Marta Kostyuk faces No. 13 Jasmine Paolini for the remaining semi-final places.
Gauff versus Muchova sets Gauff's athleticism and much-improved serve against one of the tour's most creative shot-makers, with a first Wimbledon final on the line.
