Dubai Championship: Coco Gauff advances to semifinals with 2-0 win over Madison Keys

American tennis player Coco Gauff secured her spot in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Madison Keys on Thursday. This marks the third semifinal at the WTA 1000 level or above for the No.5 seed, who has previously reached the semifinals at Rome 2021 and Roland Garros 2022.

Dominating performance against Keys

Gauff only needed three winners to breeze through the first set against Keys. The World No. 23 committed 22 unforced errors and had no winners off the ground. Keys even managed to net an overhead shot, which put her down a double break.

Keys showed some resilience in the second set, breaking back early and keeping up with Gauff. However, at 5-4, Keys missed a couple of half-chances to break Gauff, and at 5-5, Keys contributed to her loss with a double fault, drive volley error, and a shanked forehand on break point.

Gauff’s solidity on serve had hardly faltered throughout the match. She landed 73% of her first serves and won 72% of those points. She closed out the match smoothly, converting her second match point as Keys committed her 51st unforced error of the day, a forehand into the tramlines.

Gauff’s impressive record against Americans

With this win, Gauff extended her winning streak against fellow American players to seven matches, and 12 of her last 13. She has a record of 19-6 against Americans at WTA’s main draw level, which includes a 2-1 lead against Keys, whom Gauff also defeated in straight sets at last year’s US Open.

Gauff will next face top-seeded Iga Swiatek, against whom she has never won a set in their five previous meetings, including last year’s Roland Garros final.

However, Gauff is confident that she can pull off an upset, saying, “Tomorrow I have no pressure. I just have to play my game — I definitely think I’ve gotten better since the last time I played her.”

Gauff on what she learned from previous matches against Swiatek

Gauff also reflected on her previous matches against Swiatek, saying, “All five times, I did something wrong! To be honest, she’s playing great tennis and there’s a reason she’s World No.1.

“The ranking is just a number, at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.” Gauff’s previous matches against Swiatek have been challenging for her, and she will need to bring her A-game to have a chance at advancing to the final.