NEW ⁠YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - American CocoGauff saved two match ⁠points to beat Russian fifth seed Mirra Andreeva ‌2-6 7-6(7) 6-2 on Wednesday and reachthe U.S. Open semi-finals after recovering from a dreadful opening set.

The 2023 champion had none of ​her usual firepower at first and ⁠was on the ropes ⁠in the tiebreak before she flipped the script and closed ⁠out ‌the match with a forehand strike, dropping her racket to the court in joy ⁠and relief.

She faces second seed Elena Rybakina in ​the last ‌four.

Andreevalooked completely at home in Arthur Ashe Stadium as ⁠she sprinted ​through the first four games, never allowing Gauff to set up a break-point chance in the opening set where ⁠the Russian had just five unforced ​errors to 14 from her opponent.

The two players settled into a fine fight in the second set, trading breaks ⁠twice before the tiebreak, where Gauff deployed a perfectly placed backhand to win a 39-shot rally and twice saved match point.

Andreeva flung her racket at her ​bench in disgust after dropping her ⁠serve in the third game of the decider and Gauff ​broke her to love in ‌the seventh game to put ​the contest completely out of reach.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)