US OPEN: Coco Gauff outshines Karolina Muchova to reach maiden final 

Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday to earn a berth in Saturday’s US Open final to continue outstanding summer run of form.

The 19-year-old American and sixth-seeded has now won 11 straight matches, the best streak of her career, and 17 of 18, a stretch that includes titles in Washington D.C. and Cincinnati.

“It was a tough match,” Gauff said later in press. “I had leads, lost it. It was a lot of emotional, I guess, challenges in the match. But I think I did a good job of staying focused.”

“I have been focusing more on myself and my expectations of myself,” Gauff said. “Not going on social media. … I really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, I’m really proud of how I have been handling the last few weeks.”

“She’s the type of player it’s so hard to get a rhythm,” Gauff said later on the set of ESPN. “In the second set she started to play more aggressive. I told myself, ‘Just trust yourself in the moment. You’ve got to trust yourself.’”

The victory means Gauff is now the youngest woman to appear in multiple Grand Slam finals (including 2020 Roland Garros) since Maria Sharapova (2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open) and the youngest American woman to do it since Monica Seles, from1990-93.

She’ll meet No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, who narrowly escaped No.17 Madison Keys in a third-set tiebreak in the second match of the night.