PARIS (AP) — As popular as Coco Gauff is, she knew full well that nearly all of the Court Philippe-Chatrier fans would be against her during the French Open semifinals Thursday. That's because Gauff, an American, was taking on a French opponent — and one who came from nowhere, 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson.
So the No. 2-seeded Gauff turned to a trick that 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has talked about using: When the partisan crowd was loudly singing Boisson's first name, Gauff pretended they were chanting “Coco!” Not that it mattered much, truly, because Gauff was by far the superior player throughout a 6-1, 6-2 victory that earned her a second trip to the final at Roland-Garros.
Three years ago, Gauff missed out on a chance to leave with the trophy when Iga Swiatek beat her. This time, Swiatek won't be around for the championship match on Saturday, because her 26-match unbeaten run at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament ended earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 loss to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka vs. Gauff will be the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
