Coco Gauff into French Open semi-finals after victory over Sloane Stephens

For much of the past year, one of Coco Gauff’s clearest goals has been to grow and advance at her own pace, however long it takes, ignoring all of the hype and expectations that so many others have of her. But Gauff is 18, a high-school graduate as of just over a week ago, and on Tuesday she moved into her first grand-slam semi-final at the French Open.

With a solid performance under immense grand slam pressure, Gauff was too solid for her friend and countrywoman Sloane Stephens, winning 7-5, 6-2 to advance. She will have an enormous opportunity as she faces the unseeded Martina Trevisan of Italy, who upset Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 with the Canadian struggling with an injury to her right foot.

Gauff and Stephens go back a long time. As Gauff was coming up, surrounded by hype, Stephens watched as she grew from a precocious eight-year-old to an adult with ample experience on the tour. She would attend some of Gauff’s birthday parties and they know each other’s families well. In the quarter-final here they played with so much on the line.

The match pitted two of the best athletes in the game against each other, but Gauff outworked Stephens in the numerous long rallies and remained solid as each tried to find a way through the other’s defences. She served well when she most needed to and she brought Stephens forward with regular drop shots, demonstrating the variety that has become a central part of her game.

Most of all, Gauff struck her forehand as well as she has done in any of her big matches. Throughout her young career, Gauff’s forehand has become a big target for all players, the aim to rush her elaborate swing with depth and pace, but it was Gauff frequently pushing Stephens back with her heavy topspin