Coco Gauff saluted fans in every direction at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, thanking them for their support through one of the easiest, but most important, victories of her young career. He then spread his arms and with a big smile waved his fingers up, as if asking for a little more love.
That’s all Gauff, 19, needs now, a little support to help make his dream come true. With just two wins at this US Open — four sets — Gauff will clinch his first major singles title, and for now he’s handling the pressure, if he’s ever felt it, with the cool composure of a multiple-time champion. .
“I told myself, ‘Man, I should enjoy this,'” he said. “I really enjoyed doing it. I shouldn’t think about the results. My life is very lucky and I am very blessed. I don’t want to be taken for granted.”
Winning will probably lead to smiles and Gauff, the No. 6 seed, played some of her best tennis, taking advantage of a favorable draw to reach the US Open semifinals for the first time.
Under the noon sun on Tuesday, Gauff blasted a tired Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia into near oblivion, 6-0, 6-2, in just 68 minutes to become the first American teenager to reach a US Open semifinal since Serena Williams in 2001.
Williams was also 19 that year. She went on to reach the final, where she lost to Venus Williams, her older sister. Serena Williams won the US Open in 1999 and eventually took her total to 23 major singles titles, claiming to be perhaps the best player in the history of tennis.
“She’s my idol,” Gauff said of Serena Williams, “and I think if you’d told me when I was younger that I’d be on these stat lines like her I would have been scared. I still try not to think about it because I don’t want to get too big in my head or add pressure, but it’s a cool moment to have that stat with him.
In his semifinals, Gauff will face another top-seeded opponent at No. 10 Karolina Muchova, who beat No. 30 Sorana Cirstea, 6-0, 6-3, in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday night.
Gauff has recent experience against Muchova, a win last month in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, their only career meeting, helping pave her way to the final, and perhaps her first Grand Slam title, potentially neat. He has now avoided an upcoming quarterfinal match with top-seeded Iga Swiatek after Ostapenko upset him in the late game on Sunday night.
When Ostapenko returned to play 36 hours later with the temperature on the Ashe court above 90 degrees, she was no match for Gauff. Trying to hit aggressive winners from the start, Ostapenko committed 36 unforced errors while Gauff played a patient, mature game, allowing her flustered opponent to be alone.
Gauff, who won tournaments in Washington, DC, and Mason, Ohio, after a disappointing first-round loss at Wimbledon, continued his success on the hard courts by coming through the draw in Queens. He defeated three unseeded players – including former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki – No. 32 Elise Mertens and No. 20 Ostapenko. His biggest test will be No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, if they both reach the final.
Gauff was unable to watch Ostapenko sweep Swiatek out of her way Sunday night because of a cable television dispute with her hotel’s provider. But when he saw the score, he knew that the biggest obstacle to success was gone.
“I was shocked,” Gauff said. “But I know I have to go there and play tennis, even if I’m playing her or Jelena.”
Ostapenko was understandably upset that she had to play so soon after her three-set win over Swiatek. He said he returned to his Manhattan hotel at about 2 a.m. on Monday and didn’t fall asleep until 5 a.m., because of the adrenaline.
He said he was told after his match that his quarterfinal against Gauff would take place in the evening, and considering Gauff’s popularity, it was reasonable to assume that they would be given the earliest time slot. However, tournament organizers put them on the court at noon, the first singles match of the day. Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, two famous Americans, were given the stage in the evening of Ashe, after the Cirstea-Muchova match.
“When I saw the schedule I was a little surprised,” Ostapenko said, “not in a very good way.”
Ostapenko also said she had trouble on the day, adding that she expects more from Gauff, even though she has only won two games and served only once. But his real complaint is the scheduling.
“I think it’s a little crazy,” he said.
Gauff, in his post-match news conference, spoke eloquently about his place in tennis, about handling pressure, growing up famous and learning from the example of his grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, who put together at Seacrest High School in Delray Beach, Fla., in 1961.
“He always reminds me that I’m a person first, rather than an athlete,” Gauff said.
His athletic side gathered all his skills, pride and power in recent successes at the US Open. He reached the final of the 2022 French Open, where he lost to Swiatek, but this is his home tournament, where fans – and oddsmakers – have made him the new favorite.
He was delighted by the support of the fans, who came to the US Open in record numbers this year, in part to see him. He did not shy away from the attention, nor did he fail to smile, at least after his five wins.
When he was young, Gauff’s dreams were to win tournaments, he said, like the US Open. But in those dreams, he never saw fans or sought autographs or any other people. Just a trophy.
Seeing, he said, people like those who were at Ashe on Tuesday and those who will be cheering for him going forward, those who say he inspires them, makes the experience even better.
“I’ll always continue to hug the crowd, hug people,” he said, “because the conversations I’ve had, it’s really made me feel like I’ve done a good job in this life, so far.”