Gauff beats Stephens, reaches 1st Slam semi

PARIS — Cori “Coco” Gauff has reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the French Open quarterfinals.

Gauff built early leads in both sets, and Stephens made errors at key points on Court Philippe Chatrier Tuesday.

The 18th-seeded Gauff led 3-1 in the second set when Stephens missed an opportunity to get back on serve, sending a drive volley long on her third break-point chance before Gauff won the next two points.

Stephens had won three straight games to even the first set at 5-5, but Gauff won the next seven points and broke for the set. Stephens missed a backhand volley to hand Gauff her first set-point opportunity.

The 29-year-old Stephens, a former No. 3, won at Flushing Meadows in 2017 and was the runner-up at Roland Garros the next year.

Gauff has not dropped a set on her run to the semifinals.

The 18-year-old Gauff will next face another first-time semifinalist in Martina Trevisan, who earlier beat Leylah Fernandez.

Trevisan, 28, advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal by beating a hobbled Fernandez 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

The Italian had a chance to win in two sets against the 17th-seeded Canadian at Court Philippe Chatrier but Fernandez saved a match point and then won the tiebreaker.

Trevisan double-faulted twice in the tiebreaker but won the first seven points of the third set and broke twice en route to a 4-0 lead.

The 19-year-old Fernandez, who reached the US Open final in September, received treatment on her right foot during the first set, in which she hit 15 unforced errors. She had the foot taped during a medical timeout after the fifth game, trailing 3-2.

It’s the 10th straight win for the 59th-ranked Trevisan, who reached the French Open quarterfinals two years ago. She won her first tour title this month in Rabat, Morocco.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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