Gauff powers into Roland-Garros semi-Finals after comeback win over Keys
Coco Gauff, seeded No. 2, came from a set down to defeat fellow American and Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday, advancing to her third French Open semi-final in four years at Roland-Garros
Coco Gauff, Roland-Garros 2025 | © Dante Badano / PSNew
Coco Gauff, seeded No. 2, qualified for her third semi-final in four years at the French Open, defeating Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the opening match of the day on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland-Garros on Wednesday (6-7, 6-4, 6-1).
Gauff, runner-up in 2022, dropped her first set of the 2025 tournament against a player she had every reason to be wary of — she hadn’t beaten Keys since Dubai in 2023.
The loss ends Madison Keys’ 11-match Grand Slam winning streak and evens her head-to-head record with Gauff at 3-3. Gauff has now won both of their Grand Slam encounters, including their 2022 US Open clash. This was Keys’ first Roland-Garros quarter-final appearance since 2019.
Gauff : “Focus on the next one”
“It means a lot, especially getting through this tough match today,” Coco said. “It wasn’t an easy match, and I’m very happy to get through it. I’m so excited to be in the semi-finals back here again. I have a lot more work to do. I’ll just savour this one today and focus on the next one tomorrow.”
With 14 double faults and 101 unforced errors combined, the match was filled with tension — only broken by a dominant third set from Gauff, now 21 years old.
In the first set, nerves were evident as both players lost their serve three times. Gauff (21 unforced errors) failed to convert a set point while leading 5-4 and eventually lost the tiebreak 8-6.
But the 2023 US Open champion remained composed in the second set. After racing to a 4-1 lead with two breaks, she let the advantage slip (4-4) but fought back with aggressive play to seal the set 6-4.
Gauff chasing a third major final
The third set was one-sided. Serving brilliantly — not losing a single point on her first serve and hitting 71% of first serves in — Gauff didn’t face a break point and broke Keys three times to close out the match in dominant fashion.
The match was played under the roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier due to a rainy day in Paris. “I think the court being a little bit slower coupled with the fact that she covers the court so well, it just put a little bit of pressure on me to go a little bit more for my shots and maybe press a little bit too much too soon”, said Keys.
“I think also there were a lot of points where I felt like playing someone else I would have won the point, but having to reset two and three times, it makes it harder, where even if you win six of those but if you’re losing three or four, they could be important points.”
Gauff, ranked No 2, will face the winner of the match between Russian Mirra Andreeva, the No 6 seed, and French wildcard Lois Boisson next, to chase a spot in her third major final against Aryna Sabalenka (N.1) or triple defending champion Iga Swiatek (N.5).
