Coco Gauff has been synonymous with the future for so long that these days she can predict it.
Heralded as a grand slam champion in waiting since the age of 15, Gauff has spent the past few weeks playing the best tennis of her life. Yet she had a sense of foreboding that her date with destiny at the US Open might be interrupted by climate protests, and so it proved.
A set away from repeating last month’s victory over Karolina Muchova in Cincinnati to claim a place in the final of her home grand slam for the first time, the 19-year-old’s nerve was tested by a 49-minute delay as police and security officials struggled to deal with a group of three demonstrators, one of whom had glued his bare feet to the concrete floor.
The demonstrators were roundly jeered by the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, but composure and resilience have been the hallmarks of Gauff’s run in New York, and she once again took things in her stride. Taken to a deciding set in three of her first four matches, the world No 6 has surmounted every obstacle in her path, her sure-footedness, self-belief and ability to harness the expectations of an adoring public more remarkable with each round.
So it was again as the American capitalised on a slow start by Muchova to advance to her second major final in 15 months with a 6-4, 7-5 win.
“I had a feeling it was going to happen this tournament,” said Gauff of the extended interruption. “It happened in the French Open, it happened in Wimbledon. So, you know, following the trend, it was definitely going to happen here.
“It is what it is. I think that moments like this are history-defining. I prefer it not to happen in my match, but I wasn’t pissed at the protesters. I know the stadium was, because it interrupted the entertainment.
“It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it. Obviously, I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning, up 6-4, 1-0. I wanted the momentum to keep going. But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”
On and off the court, it was an impressive show of calmness from Gauff. Magnanimity always comes more easily when you win, of course, and when play resumed it can hardly have harmed the teenager’s confidence that she has been virtually invincible in recent weeks after taking the opening set. This was her 15th straight win in such circumstances, a reflection of her burgeoning self-belief as well as the technical and tactical enhancements she has made since bringing on board the coaching expertise of Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert this summer.
For all the recent talk of Gauff’s improved forehand, the focus in the early stages was on the Muchova backhand. Or rather, the puzzling absence thereof. Frequently lauded for her variety, the 27-year-old came up with a seemingly infinite number of ways to miss backhands: driven or sliced, passing shot or rally ball, the Czech simply could not find the court. In the third game alone, Muchova missed four backhands in a row after establishing a 0-30 lead on Gauff’s serve. It was wretched stuff, a far cry from the resurgent form that earned her a place in the French Open final earlier this summer.
Muchova, who wore a protective sleeve on her sore right arm, was hardly helped by the partisan nature of a crowd that had come to see an American victory and an American victory only. When the Czech belatedly won her first game with a bold second serve ace, the stadium greeted her success with stone cold silence. Before long, though, that indifference would give way to anxiety.
One corollary of Muchova’s early difficulties was to create a false impression of Gauff dominance. The teenager’s best moments – a pair of early topspin lobs, a running backhand pass as she served for the set at 5-1 – were all the more notable amid the surrounding dross. But with the opener in her grasp, three straight forehand errors from Gauff gifted Muchova a lifeline. Duly encouraged, the Czech intensified her examination of Gauff’s weaker side, and as she finally began to find her range, producing some sharp net play, she was rewarded with a series of cheap mistakes from the increasingly exasperated American.
By now it was a comedy of errors, and it was no surprise when Muchova, back on serve at 4-5, suddenly reverted to type, producing another woeful service game to concede the set. The momentum was firmly with Gauff as she began the second set with a confident hold, sending down a flurry of big serves, but the delay that followed saw the contest shift gears.
“I tried to take it as a positive,” said Muchova. “I could talk to my coaches. They were trying to wake me up.
“I tried, [and] after the break I actually played a little bit better. But it was not enough.”
Not so long ago, it might have been. As Muchova began to play with greater freedom and aggression, showcasing her athleticism and dexterity at the net, Gauff began to rush between points. For all her improvement since Wimbledon, where the disappointment of a first-round loss proved the catalyst for a summer that has brought titles in Washington and Cincinnati – and a morale-boosting first win in eight meetings with Iga Swiatek – here was a litmus test of her recent development.
When Gauff out-rallied Muchova to break for 5-3 before bringing up match point with an audacious drop shot, the American looked certain to pass with flying colours. But as Muchova suddenly upped the ante, averting the danger with a daring net raid, the mind reverted to Roland Garros, where the Czech performed an identical act of escapology to deny Aryna Sabalenka a place in the final.
Could lightning strike twice? It certainly looked possible when Muchova levelled at 5-5. But Gauff steadied herself to hold, absorbed the loss of a further four match points as the Czech produced some of her best tennis of the evening, and then came through a 40-shot exchange in which her opponent tried every variation of spin, height and pace in the manual to set up a sixth opportunity. Muchova had nothing left; seconds later, she missed one last backhand and Gauff was home and dry, the youngest American woman to reach a US Open final since Serena Williams in 1999.
Standing between Gauff and a maiden grand slam title is Sabalenka, the incoming world No 1, who survived by the skin of her teeth against Madison Keys, the 17th seed and 2017 finalist.
After an error-strewn start, another dose of semi-final heartbreak looked inevitable for Sabalenka when Keys served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But the the Belarusian second seed belatedly roused herself, swinging freely for the first time all night as she claimed a love break. Keys needed a pair of big serves to fend off two set points and force a tiebreak, but Sabalenka dominated the shootout and went on to recover from a break down in the decider as she closed out a 0-6, 7-6, (7-1), 7-6 (10-5) victory.
“It was crazy,” said Sabalenka, who prematurely celebrated victory at 7-3 in the match tiebreak before realising she still needed to win three more points.
“I was all over the place. I was just like, ‘What can I do? She’s playing unbelievable, crushing everything.’ I was not able to do anything, I had zero control in the match.
“You just have to keep trying, keep staying there, and keep pushing it. Maybe you’ll be able to turn around this game. Lucky me, somehow, magically, I don’t know how, I was able to turn around this game.”