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"She's a tough opponent, she's well loved on
tour and I could tell by the crowd today. I know you guys wanted
her to win," reigning U.S. Open champion Gauff said.
"Honestly, whenever she's not playing, I cheer for her too. So
thank you guys for making it a good atmosphere. I like playing
in environments like this.
"Even when I lost the first set and they were chanting when I
was in the bathroom, I was like, 'This is just really fun', win
or lose."
The pair matched each other blow for blow in the opening set,
whether it was rallying from the baseline or coming into the
net.
In an eight-minute game at 3-3, however, Jabeur finally
converted a break point and the Tunisian hit a purple patch on
serve as Gauff had no answer to her pinpoint winners and drop
shots.
Roared on by her fans, Jabeur made it 5-3 in a flash and nearly
broke Gauff again before wrapping up the set on serve, sealing
it with a searing ace.
Gauff grew in confidence in the second set, however, especially
on serve where she consistently went over 200 km/hr, while
Jabeur faltered as the American converted all three break point
opportunities to force a decider.
"I was definitely trying to be more aggressive. She was playing
really well the whole match," Gauff added.
"She was hitting a lot of winners on me, which is something I'm
not used to against anybody. So today I was just trying to be
aggressive towards the end."
Gauff carried that momentum into the third set and consolidated
a break to go 4-1 up as Jabeur's forehand deserted her.
Although Jabeur had her moments, with her risk-for-rewards
shot-making, she could not cut out her unforced errors as Gauff
sealed victory on serve when the Tunisian's volley went wide.
Gauff will next meet either top seed and defending champion Iga
Swiatek -- who ended her French Open hopes in the 2022 final and
last year's quarter-finals -- or Wimbledon champion Marketa
Vondrousova.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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