Coco Gauff has reached the semifinals at Wimbledon for the first time, recovering from a set down to beat her compatriot Jessica Pegula on Centre Court and take another step toward a title on the surface that had long been her weakest.
A comeback on grass
Gauff lost the opening set but turned the match around to win in three, closing out the quarterfinal against Pegula to book her place in the last four, NBC Sports reported. It was the kind of recovery that has become a hallmark of her game, staying composed after a poor start and raising her level when it mattered. Grass has historically been the trickiest surface for Gauff, whose big strengths shine more readily on hard courts and clay; reaching the semifinals here fills in a notable gap.
A record for her age
The win carried a piece of history. At 22, Gauff became the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2007 to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments, ESPN reported. It is a marker of how early and how consistently she has performed at the sport's biggest events, having already won two major titles.
What is next
Gauff, a Grand Slam champion at the US Open and the French Open, will face one of the tournament's other leading names for a place in the final, Forbes reported. For a player who had reached the second week at Wimbledon before without going deeper, the semifinal is both a breakthrough and a chance: the last stretch of a tournament she has never won, now within reach, on the surface she has worked hardest to master.
