Coco Gauff dug deep on Tuesday night, clawing her way out of a third-set deficit and into the Miami semifinals for the first time.
Down a break to Belinda Bencic and exasperated by a string of missed break-point chances, Gauff let out a frustrated, “So many chances.” A few points later, that cry became a turning point as she broke back for 3-3 and never looked back.
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That swing sparked a defiant sprint to the finish. Gauff won the last four games to close out a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory in 2 hours and 15 minutes, beating Bencic for the fifth time in seven meetings at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and booking a semifinal against Karolina Muchova.
“It was a tough match,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “Belinda is a tough player. Every time we play, it’s a long match. It took a lot of running today, some falls, but I’m really proud of how I fought today. I think that’s been a theme of the week.
“It felt like today, my opponent, she raised her level, and I was able to raise it in the third.”
Despite her assessment, it was Gauff who set the tone early. She came out swinging, holding to love in the opening game and striking cleanly from the baseline.
The American earned the first break in the next game, using sharp net play to convert her third break point for a 2-0 lead. Her play up close defined the set, as she went a perfect 8-for-8 at the net. She also won 94% of her first-serve points in the 51-minute opener that she bookended with another love hold.
But Bencic, whose forehand faltered early, found her stroke in the second set. She put away a forehand winner to break for 2-0, then used a backhand winner to help hold for 3-0. Ultimately, the No. 12 seed cut her unforced errors from 15 to 7 and broke Gauff twice to take the set in less than half an hour.
The decider wasn’t quite one for the ages, but it will be remembered by both players for very different reasons. Gauff had to grind through a tense opening hold, saving a break point with back-to-back big first serves. It was the only break point Bencic — who finished 4-of-5 — failed to convert, and it proved costly.
Gauff produced the first point of the match soon after, surviving a defensive scramble before finishing with an overhead at the net. Bencic still held for 1-1, and a few games later she broke for 3-2 from 40-0 down, winning five straight points to draw the ire of the World No. 4.
In the next game came the, “So many chances,” moment after Gauff missed a volley. Whatever else she muttered in that self-pep talk, it worked. On the following point, she crushed a forehand winner to set up her third break point of the game. She went just 4-of-13 in terms of break-point chances overall, but she converted this one to level at 3-3.
The second point of the match came with Gauff leading 4-3 and holding a break point. More scrambling defense — this time from the baseline — gave her a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the match.
After taking a spill in the first point of the game — mirroring Bencic’s earlier fall — Gauff climbed out of a 0-30 hole, winning four straight points. An ace set up match point, and a pinpoint drop shot followed by another clean put away sealed another gritty Gauff victory.
Gauff is the youngest American to reach the women’s singles semifinals at the Miami Open since Serena Williams in 2024.
“Just how I was able to hold my nerve,” Gauff said of what pleased her most. “As the match got longer, I was able to serve better. I think that ace at 30-all just shows the improvement and trusting myself and making the second serve on match point, I think there’s a lot of things to be proud of today.”
She’ll look to continue that momentum in the semifinals against Muchova. History is on her side: she is 5-0 against the Czech, with four of those wins coming in straight sets.
