Absorb. Extend. Create.
That was the mindset that Coco Gauff took onto the court to face Elena Rybakina in Thursday night’s second women’s semifinal in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She did it for long stretches, and with her back against the wall, but ultimately it was Rybakina who came through with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to set a final with Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
It will be her first final Queens and her fourth Grand Slam final.
It was a solid effort from Gauff, but she went flat for stretches in the middle set, and couldn’t consolidate a key break-back in the final game of the match, which ended with a misstruck overhead that sailed way long of the baseline ending the contest in two hours and eight minutes.
After the pair split sets, both tightened up their games to create a tense, thrilling decider.
Gauff entered with a 26-8 lifetime record in deciders, best in the Open Era, and picked up her level at the start of the third.
Gauff saved a couple of break points then fully committed to her forehand to lock down a hold for three-all, Gauff’s success in the seven-minute game bringing the crowd to its feet.
A run of 12 of 13 service points enabled Rybakina to secure another hold for 4-3.
Would her serving trance hold until the end, or would Gauff find a way to rattle her in the eleventh hour?
After Rybakina broke for 5-3, we got our answer. A phenomenal break by Gauff got her the break and set the crowd alight. It was Gauff at her finest, using her quickness, ripping returns, firing up the crowd after points, of course, the backhand locked it down on the final two points.
But she couldn’t keep it going.
She fell behind 15-40 in the next game, and then missed an overhead from the midcourt after working so diligently to gain the upper hand on Rybakina’s match point.
The crowd was ready for drama, and what would have been one of Gauff’s signature win.
Instead it was Rybakina standing at her baseline in relief when the smash landed long. She will finish the season No.1 no matter what happens in Sunday’s final, but a title would make it all the more sweeter.
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