Caroline Garcia-2
NEW YORK (AP) — Caroline Garcia reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at age 28 by beating 18-year-old American Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-4 at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night.
The 17th-seeded Garcia had lost both of her two previous matches against the 12th-seeded Gauff, who was the runner-up at the French Open in June, but was by far the better player this time in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Garcia, who is from France, hasn’t ceded a set at Flushing Meadows so far this year and stretched her winning streak to 13 matches overall, solidifying her status as someone playing as well as anyone in women’s tennis at the moment.
She finished last year ranked 74th, but now is projected to rise into the top 10 next week.
Garcia will face Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur of Tunisia on Thursday with a berth in the final at stake.
Jabeur advanced to her first semifinal in New York with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over the player who beat Serena Williams in the third round, Ajla Tomljanovic.