Chris Evert Praises “Fighter” Coco Gauff as She Gets past Madison Keys to Reach the Roland Garros Semi-Final

Coco Gauff is into her third Roland Garros semi-final after coming from behind to beat Madison Keys in three sets.

Chris Evert Praises “Fighter” Coco Gauff as She Gets past Madison Keys to Reach the Roland Garros Semi-Final

Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Chris Evert (via X/The Tennis Letter/CNN)

Coco Gauff produced a statement performance on Wednesday to beat World No.8 Madison Keys to reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Roland Garros. The tie was an entertaining all-American clash. However, tennis legend Chris Evert was stunned by the errors from both players after the match.

Gauff and Keys’ accuracy throughout the match was in and out and lacked consistency. The former tallied 15 winners and 41 unforced errors (including 10 double faults), while the latter hit 25 winners and 60 unforced errors. But in the third set, it was Gauff who managed to tighten up her game, committing just two unforced errors to Keys’ 16.

Nonetheless, Keys took the lead after the first set tiebreak, but Gauff bounced back in the second. She led 4-1 with a double break, only to be pegged back by Keys with a three consecutive game win. At 4-4, the 21-year-old then pulled off the shot of the match, which paved the way to break again and win the set.

In the third set, Gauff took control of everything. The 2023 US Open champion began hitting the ball with so much power that Keys had absolutely no reply. Gauff completed the turnaround 6(6)-7, 6-4, 6-1 to progress to her second successive French Open semi-final and third overall.

After the match, Chris Evert was stunned by Gauff’s fighting spirit throughout the tie as she didn’t give up, especially in the second set. The tennis legend added on TNT Sports that the American didn’t play well in the match, but her flawless performance in the third set gave her an edge over Keys in the end.

Didn’t play her best, and had to deal with Madison’s big forehand that gave her trouble, but in the end, she came through in the third set and played almost a flawless set. She looked so happy and relieved at the same time. It was a very nervy match. Both players couldn’t find their game in the first and second sets. They were gutsy, they were fighters, but in the third set, Coco found it.

The loss ends Australian Open champion Madison Keys’ 11-match winning streak and evens her head-to-head record with Gauff at 3-3. Gauff hadn’t beaten Keys since Dubai 2023, but she’s now won both of their Grand Slam matches, including their 2022 US Open clash.

Coco Gauff about how she fights hard in difficult matches

Gauff is into her fifth Grand Slam semi-finals and third at the French Open. The 21-year-old has now won 25 matches at the Roland Garros and is the youngest player to hit the mark since 19-year-old Martina Hingis in 2000.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (via X)

One major strength of Gauff is to remain dialed into a match despite playing badly. That was what helped her overcome Madison Keys, and she revealed the reason for that.

At times in matches I have thought about that. Just that I have had that in me from a young age. When times become more difficult, knowing that I can dig deep in those tough moments … I think just a love to win, the will to win. It’s not something that’s taught or anything. It’s just I have always had that in me, and not just in tennis but in everything. I’m a very competitive person. My philosophy is if I can just leave it all out there, then the loss will hurt a lot less.

Gauff will now face French Lois Boisson in the semi-final. The American now has a shot to the final, but she will have to conquer Boisson first, who defeated Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals. If Gauff beats the French star, she will face the winner between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

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