{"id":98001,"date":"2023-09-07T11:27:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T11:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/09\/07\/coco-gauff-aryna-sabalenka-karolina-muchova\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T11:27:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T11:27:48","slug":"coco-gauff-aryna-sabalenka-karolina-muchova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/09\/07\/coco-gauff-aryna-sabalenka-karolina-muchova\/","title":{"rendered":"Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Karolina Muchova"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Coco Gauff is into a second career Grand Slam singles semi-final
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American hope Coco Gauff says she is telling herself it is still the beginning of the US Open as she tries to reach the final of her home Grand Slam tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n

Sixth seed Gauff, 19, plays Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova in Thursday\u2019s women\u2019s semi-finals in New York.<\/p>\n

Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka, yet to drop a set, meets American Madison Keys in the other semi-final.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have the mentality that I still have another two weeks to play,\u201d Gauff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what I learned in the past of being in quarter-finals \u2013 before I would think I\u2019m close to the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen obviously when it\u2019s over, it\u2019s over.\u201d\"Thursday's<\/p>\n

Gauff has enjoyed the best period of her career on the North American hard-court swing, coming into the US Open on the back of winning her biggest singles titles in Washington and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

She has continued to thrive in front of expectant home crowds, going one better than her quarter-final run at Flushing Meadows last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s helping is playing from [Washington] DC to Montreal to Cincinnati, that was a long swing,\u201d said Gauff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think doing well in those tournaments built my mental endurance. I always had the physical endurance but it built my mental endurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The improvements were evident at the US Open when she came from behind to beat German qualifier Laura Siegemund in the first round and Belgian 32nd seed Elise Mertens in the third.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re confident and clear in what you\u2019ve got to do out there, it puts your mind at ease,\u201d Jarmere Jenkins, part of Gauff\u2019s new coaching team, told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I feel she was going out there and hoping to play well. Now she is going into a match thinking: \u2018I\u2019ve got this if I play well or even if I don\u2019t\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t always have to play great to win a match, a lot of matches she has won not playing her best tennis \u2013 but the best is going to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka \u2018learning not losing\u2019 from tough exits<\/h3>\n
\"Aryna
Aryna Sabalenka has made the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With most of the focus on Gauff, Sabalenka has been quietly and efficiently getting on with business in New York.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old, who won her maiden major singles title at the Australian Open in January, has not dropped a set on her way to the last four.<\/p>\n

She is aiming for a first US Open final appearance, having reached the semi-finals for the third successive year.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka lost to Muchova from a\u00a0commanding deciding-set lead\u00a0in this year\u2019s French Open semi-finals, a tournament where she skipped open news conferences to protect her mental health and faced questions about Belarus\u2019 involvement in Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

She also lost from a set up against Tunisia\u2019s Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Bouncing back to reach the New York last four means she is the first women\u2019s player to make the semi-finals of all four majors in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a couple of really tough losses this year, but we\u2019re not losing: we\u2019re learning,\u201d Sabalenka said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have really strong belief that all those tough matches I lost will help me in the future in other tough matches, other tough battles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super proud of myself and my team that we have been able to adjust to different conditions, different courts. We were able to bring this consistency in my game. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The players trying to stop them<\/h3>\n

Muchova, 27, is aiming for a second Grand Slam final of the season after letting a deciding-set lead slip against Swiatek at the French Open.<\/p>\n

Seeded 10th at the US Open, the Czech has enjoyed a renaissance this year after overcoming a series of injuries which threatened to end her career in 2022.<\/p>\n

Muchova has already played Gauff on the US hard courts recently, losing in straight sets in the Cincinnati final.<\/p>\n

Asked about her mentality before facing Gauff again, Muchova said: \u201cI\u2019m trying to keep things pretty easy and not put too many expectations on me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to the match for me is playing my own game. I don\u2019t really want to say all the tactics, I\u2019ll just focus on myself and try to bring the best out of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always feel that I\u2019m a tough cookie in life as well. That helps with tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Karolina
This time last year, Muchova was ranked 235th and lost in the opening round of the 2022 US Open<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keys, seeded 17th, is aiming for a return to the final after losing to fellow American Sloane Stephens in 2017.<\/p>\n

After beating Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the last four, 28-year-old Keys thanked the home crowd for helping her feel she could \u201cget out of any situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Keys will be hoping to channel the support when she meets Sabalenka, who beat her in straight sets at Wimbledon two months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the second set at Wimbledon, I was up a break and I had chances. I was definitely in the match and had opportunities,\u201d said Keys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think even though I lost that match, it wasn\u2019t like I wasn\u2019t in the match and had no idea what I was doing out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of positives I can take out of that match and try to implement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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