CNN
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Jimmy Butler’s talents have been lauded this postseason. From his toughness to his elite shot-making, there is a reason he has earned the nickname ‘Himmy Buckets.’

But one talent we didn’t know the Miami Heat star had was clairvoyance. But according to tennis star and Heat fan Coco Gauff, Butler is either excellent at predicting the future or just extremely confident.

In the lead up to the French Open, Gauff hinted she had a “funny story” about Butler but was “going to save it” to avoid jinxing it.

However, after her victory in the first round at Roland Garros on Tuesday and, more importantly, the Heat’s dominant Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics to book their ticket to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Gauff said she was finally ready to tell the story.

Gauff, who said she didn’t watch Game 7 as it was on in the middle of the night before her first round match but was “very relieved” to see the result, explained that before the playoffs, Butler reached out to her to offer her tickets for the final home game of the season in April, before contacting her a few weeks later offering her tickets for the postseason.

“I said: ‘I won’t be here. I’ll be in Madrid and then Rome and then France,’” Gauff told reporters.

“And then he said: ‘OK, when we make the Finals, let me know if your family wants some tickets.’ So this was before [the Heat] were even in the playoffs.

“This is before we lost to the Hawks for the first Play-In game. Everybody is like we have a 3% chance of making the Finals, but when he sent me that, I knew we were making the Finals because he didn’t say, ‘If we make the Finals,’ he said: ‘When we make the Finals.’ Now that we are in the Finals, I can say that story.

“But I remember screenshotting it and sending it to my family and I was, like: ‘Oh, we’re going to the Finals!’”

Butler’s confidence stuck with the 19-year-old, as she said: “I just really like that mentality of him.”

Gauff also revealed she took heart from the Heat’s resolve in Game 7 having relinquished a 3-0 lead to the Celtics in the series only to come out on top.

“Honestly, today, I told myself if Jimmy Butler didn’t freak out when they were up 3-0 and all of a sudden it’s 3-all, then I shouldn’t freak out after losing the first set,” Gauff said on court after her comeback win against Rebeka Masarova.

Butler has played a vital role in the No. 8 seed Heat’s miraculous run to the NBA Finals, beating the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 5 New York Knicks and most recently the No. 2 seeded Celtics.

The NBA Finals begin on Thursday in Denver.

CNN
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It wasn’t too long ago that Coco Gauff exploded onto the scene as a 15-year-old, defeating Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019.

But time marches on and it was Gauff who was the experienced player on court on Saturday as she defeated 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in a hard-fought battle between two of tennis’ most talented teenagers.

The American lost the first set in a tiebreak but rallied to dismantle Andreeva in the next two sets and take a 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-1 win to advance to the fourth round of the French Open.

“We practiced together this week, actually,” Gauff, still just 19, said afterwards, according to the Guardian. “I don’t know if it made a difference in the match – it’s all about adjustment, that’s tennis.

“Today wasn’t going to be an easy match, she deserves to be where she is and go even further.”

Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday in April and became the youngest player to reach the third round at Roland Garros since 2005, according to the WTA.

And for the first 65 minutes of the match, it seemed as if Andreeva might continue her meteoric rise with a shock victory as she pummeled Gauff’s weaker forehand side with first serves and won the set’s tiebreak.

Despite her age, Gauff has already played in numerous French Open tournaments and reached the final last year. Armed with that experience, she reset, shored up her second serve, and harnessed her powerful backhand to ultimately outmaneuver Andreeva.

Gauff will now face the unseeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova for a place in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, defending champion and world No.1 Iga Swiatek also reached the fourth round with an emphatic 6-0 6-0 win against China’s Wang Xinyu, while world No. 4 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the French Open citing an upper respiratory illness.

CNN
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Iga Świątek remains on course to retain her French Open title after easing past Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 to reach the semifinals at Roland-Garros.

In a rematch of last year’s final, Świątek ultimately had too much quality for Gauff to handle as her relentless power and consistency eventually broke the American down.

Świątek has now beaten Gauff in all seven of their meetings on the WTA Tour, with the teenager yet to even take a set off the Polish world No. 1.

Up next for Świątek is Beatriz Haddad Maia, who earlier on Wednesday upset Ons Jabeur in three sets to become the first Brazilian woman to reach a grand slam semifinal in the Open Era.

“After the match, I feel pretty satisfied with my game,” a modest Świątek, who has now reached the semifinals in four of the last six grand slams, told the Tennis Channel.

“I’m happy that I was able to make it in two sets and in the first set, in important moments, I was more solid. It wasn’t easy, especially with the wind today, but I’m happy I’m through to the semifinal.”

Facing Świątek on clay must currently be one of the most daunting prospects in sport and the 22-year-old was once against in commanding, irresistible form against Gauff, in particular as she raced away in the second set.

Gauff kept pace with her opponent in the opening set as the pair exchanged early breaks of serve. However, the pressure soon told with Gauff serving at 4-5 to stay in the set as Świątek broke to love to take the lead in the match.

It proved to be the beginning of the end for Gauff, who was powerless to stop Świątek’s inevitable march to victory.

If there were any fans still betting against Świątek in Paris, that number will certainly be even smaller now.

The three-time grand slam winner has dropped just 15 games – including a 5-1 walkover win against Lesia Tsurenko – during this run to the semifinals and is the overwhelming favorite to lift her third title at Roland-Garros.

Świątek, according to Opta, is the first player since Conchita Martinez in 1995 to reach the semifinals at the French Open having dropped 15 games or fewer.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who plays Karolína Muchová in the semifinals on Thursday, undoubtedly has the weapons to hurt Świątek, but facing the Pole on clay – perhaps Sabalenka’s least favorite surface – is a different prospect entirely.

With many of her matches over so quickly – she has recorded four bagels so far this tournament – Świątek has found herself with plenty of downtime in Paris.

So what does the defending champion do to pass the time and relax when she’s away from the court?

“Well, I finished watching Madam Secretary and right now I’m watching the second season of Ted Lasso, but it’s pretty short so I guess I’ll be done tomorrow,” Świątek joked.

It’s fair to say she might have enough time to finish a few more series before the tournament is over.

CNN
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Coco Gauff continued her run of emphatic victories at the US Open on Tuesday, breezing past Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

The world No. 6 didn’t lose a game in the opening set before wrapping up a convincing 6-0 6-2 victory to book her first ever semifinal spot at the US Open.

With many of the top seeds in the women’s draw having already been knocked out, Gauff remains one of the few favorites still left.

Gauff, 19, will now face either Sorana Cîrstea or this year’s French Open runner-up Karolína Muchová in the next round.

“I’m so happy,” Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win. “Last year I lost in the quarterfinals. I’m happy and ready to get back to work on the next one.”

The American faced a tricky challenge against the resurgent Ostapenko after the Latvian beat defending champion Iga Świątek in the previous round.

But, playing in front of a home crowd, Gauff showed no signs of nerves as she dominated her opponent to win the first set in just 20 minutes.

Ostapenko, who won the French Open back in 2017, came out in the second set with far more aggression, winning two games to avoid a total whitewash.

In the end, though, the frustrated Latvian proved no match for Gauff as she was punished for making consistent errors.

While the result looks emphatic on paper, Gauff was still made to work for her win.

Ostapenko saved two match points as Gauff looked to finish the tie, but the American was eventually able to clinch the win with an accurate forehand to seal her 10th consecutive victory.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match – even on the match points,” Gauff added.

“I know the game [Ostapenko] plays. She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just trying to get every point, put every ball in.

“It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could, and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a tough player and she had a great tournament.”

With the victory, Gauff becomes the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since Serena Williams in 2001.

It’s also just the second time in Gauff’s career that she has made it to the semifinal stage of a grand slam – the last coming at the French Open in 2022, where she eventually lost in the final to Świątek.

After triumphing against Świątek in the previous round, Ostapenko was not happy with the amount of rest time she was allocated in between the impressive victory and her match against Gauff.

“I mean, if I play a match, like, a late-night session, then I suppose, in one day, I have to play at least at the same time or later on because you don’t really have much time to recover,” Ostapenko told reporters after her loss. “I think it was better for her the schedule because, obviously, she played much earlier the day I played the night session.”

The 26-year-old added that she was sure she was going to face Gauff in the night session.

“The thing was that, when I asked the day before, I was pretty sure I’m gonna play at night session because that’s what they told me. When the schedule came out, I saw I’m playing first match and was, like, ‘Wow, that’s a little bit strange scheduling,’” Ostapenko added.

“Yeah, when I saw the schedule I was a little bit surprised, not in a really good way.”

CNN reached out to the US Tennis Association about Ostapenko’s comments but has not received a response at the time of publishing.

Gauff now has a huge opportunity at Flushing Meadows.

Monday’s action saw Świątek, the No. 1 seed, Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, and Ons Jabeur, the No. 5 seed, all exit the tournament, leaving Gauff and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka as the two highest remaining seeds left in the women’s draw.

And with some convincing victories under her belt already in New York, Gauff has arguably her best chance to win her maiden grand slam title.

The top seed left in the draw, Sabalenka, will face rising Chinese star Zheng Qinwen – who is enjoying a career best run at a grand slam after comfortably upsetting last year’s finalist Jabeur in straight sets in the round-of-16 – in the quarterfinals.

Świątek’s early exit means Sabalenka will become the new world No. 1 on Monday, the first time in her career she has held the top spot in the rankings, with her ascension coming after a remarkable year in which she won three titles, including her first grand slam at the Australian Open.

Sabalenka says she is currently “playing great tennis” but knows there are “always things to improve” as she anticipates a tricky match against Zheng.

“We practiced with her a couple of times,” she told reporters after Monday’s win over Daria Kasatkina. “She’s playing really great tennis. [Her] forehand is really heavy, I would say backhand as well. Serving well. Moving well.

“It’s like she’s got nothing to lose, so she’s playing at her best. She played great tennis against Ons – I haven’t watched her previous matches, but, yeah, she’s playing great tennis right now.

“The trickiest part is that she’s moving well, playing some heavy shots. I have to be physically and mentally ready that there are going to be some winners against me in that match.

“I just have to focus on myself more than on her. I know if I’ll bring my tennis there, I have a chance to win this match.”

CNN
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It began with 128 contenders, but now the women’s draw at the US Open is down to just four.

After almost two weeks of grueling action in the searing heat in New York, the semifinalists have been confirmed for the fourth and final grand slam of 2023.

American teenager Coco Gauff faces Czech world No. 10 Karolína Muchová, while world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka takes on local favorite Madison Keys.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the US Open women’s semifinals.

Gauff and Muchová kick off proceedings in Arthur Ashe Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, with Keys and Sabalenka following them.

Viewers in the US can watch all the action on ESPN, while Sky Sports will broadcast the matches in the UK.

For those eagle-eyed fans, you might remember this specific match-up taking place very recently.

The two took to the court just under three weeks ago in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, with Gauff winning in straight sets to claim to biggest title of her career.

Her victory in Ohio came in the midst of Gauff’s best period of form in her blossoming tennis career, momentum she’s continued into the US Open.

The American’s most recent outing at Flushing Meadows was another impressive performance, beating Jelena Ostapenko with ease for her 10th victory in a row.

It has been somewhat of a coming-of-age tournament for Gauff, who looks like a serious contender to win her maiden grand slam title, but she insists she’s not getting ahead of herself.

“There’s still a lot of tennis left to play,” Gauff said. “I’m still in the mindset that I’m in the beginning of the tournament. Before I would think close to the end, but right now, I have the mentality that I told myself I still have another two weeks to play.

“Right now, I feel emotionally fresh, which I think was the problem in the past in grand slams. I would emotionally be drained.”

Muchová is very much seen as the underdog against Gauff, despite also showing excellent form recently to rise up to a career-high ranking of No. 10 in the world.

The Czech, who lost in the final of the French Open earlier in the year, has only dropped one set en route to the semifinal as she continues an extraordinary comeback season after suffering a series of injuries last year which threatened her career.

“Mental strength … how would I describe it?” Muchová asked. “I always feel that I’m a pretty tough cookie in life. That helps with tennis. But yeah, some days are better; some days not.

She added: “I don’t really want to say all the keys with the tactics. So I’ll just focus on myself. She’s very athletic. She never gives up. Runs for every ball. Doesn’t do many mistakes. She has all the strokes.”

The second semifinal of the day will also see an American with the crowd behind her taking on a European as Keys faces Belarus’ Sabalenka.

No. 17 seed Keys is enjoying a revival at the tournament, having lost in the final to Sloane Stephens in 2017.

She has already beaten three seeded players on her way to the semifinals, most recently blitzing past Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová in the quarterfinals as she continues to draw on the home crowds to inspire her victories.

“I think I have had just a really good mindset going into the matches. I’ve been trying to be maybe just a little bit more emotionally balanced,” Keys said on her US Open success after her victory over Vondroušová.

It was her 26th career victory over a top-10 player and sets up a heavyweight clash against Sabalenka, who is currently the in-form player in women’s tennis having not dropped a set on her path to the semifinals.

The Belarussian eased past Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals to reach her fifth consecutive grand slam semifinal and continue her remarkable record in major quarterfinals – she has now won her first seven grand slam quarterfinal matches, second on the all-time list behind Chris Evert who, amazingly, won her first 48.

The 25-year-old will be crowned as the new world No. 1 when the new rankings are released on Monday and, after claiming her first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier in the year, Sabalenka is the favorite to win her second of the year.

She’s the first woman to reach the semifinals at all four grand slams in a year since Serena Williams in 2016 and says she has learned a lot from her prior results.

“I had a couple of really tough losses this year,” Sabalenka said. “But as I said, we’re not losing, we’re learning. I’m just getting more experience and getting stronger.”

CNN
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Coco Gauff was ruthless and totally dominant in her US Open quarterfinal against Jelena Ostapenko, dropping just two games in a match that could have really troubled the young American.

Ostapenko, although blighted by inconsistency, had been expected to pose serious questions to Gauff’s title credentials after an impressive run in New York, but was easily brushed aside 6-0 6-2 in little over an hour.

Gauff has once again taken her game up a level this season – in particular during the second half of the year – as the 19-year-old continues her ascent to tennis stardom.

Those improvements were on full display against Ostapenko, with Gauff stifling her opponent’s power with booming ground strokes of her own and, crucially, a level precision and consistency the Latvian was unable to find.

The improvement in Gauff’s physical attributes have been plain for all to see at Flushing Meadows, but the world No. 6 gave an insight into the process of building the mental endurance necessary to make deep runs at grand slams.

“I think it’s unique to every person,” she told reporters. “It comes with trial and error. What I learned about myself is that in these moments, I should not put so much pressure on these matches because when you’re playing these tournaments, the pressure is always on.

“They’re so intense and you always want to win. I just learned how to cope with that better the more I’ve reached this level. You have some people who kind of do it already when they come on tour and some who need to learn.

“I think that’s just part of life and just part of learning. That’s why sometimes someone has a great result, like when they come out the gates, and then it’s tough to back it up because you’ve just never been in this position before.

“The more I’ve gotten into this position, the more I’ve just been able to learn how to handle it.”

That pressure will intensify further when Gauff faces Karolína Muchová in the US Open semifinals on Thursday.

The spotlight is never brighter on a player than when playing at a home grand slam, but Gauff has handled the occasion with a maturity that belies her years, not once appearing to suffer under the weight of expectation.

However, the teenager admits that wasn’t always the case and being able to handle the pressure as she does now was a process that took time.

Among the things that helped the most with that process, Gauff said, was putting her life “into perspective” when she started to feel overwhelmed.

“At first, I used to think negative things,” she recalled. “Like why is there so much pressure? Why is this so hard? Blah, blah, blah. I realize in a way it’s pressure but it’s not. I mean, there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills.

“That’s real pressure, that’s real hardship, that’s real life. I’m in a very privileged position, I’m getting paid to do what I love and getting support to do what I love. That’s something that I don’t take for granted.

“So really I just put my life into perspective and especially in New York, I just feel like you see that perspective a lot more, especially compared to where I live,” Gauff added. “I have a lucky life and so I should enjoy it.

“I know there are millions of people who probably want to be in this position that I am now, so instead of saying, ‘Why this, why that?’ I should just be, like, ‘Why not me? Why am I not enjoying this?’ I should.”

Gauff said she is now “having so much fun” playing tennis, and that enjoyment is evident when she takes to the court. “I just told myself: ‘Man, I should enjoy this,’” she explained.

That enjoyment spills over into her interviews and press conferences, too, where Gauff is affable, authentic and funny, traits that are increasingly endearing her to not only US fans, but those around the world.

It helps, Gauff said, to “not think about the results” and instead only focus on having fun.

“I’m living a lucky life and I’m so blessed. I don’t want to take it for granted,” she said. “So that’s the reason why, I think it’s just putting my life in perspective and realizing how grateful and blessed I am.”

CNN
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Coco Gauff said she couldn’t “really get upset” with the climate protestors who caused a 45-minute delay in the middle of her US Open semifinal against Karolína Muchová on Thursday.

Gauff, who went on to win the match 6-4 7-5 and reach her second grand slam final, was leading at the start of the second set when the disruption took place.

In a statement, the US Open called it a “fan-related” incident on Arthur Ashe Stadium and said one attendee “affixed himself to the floor and due to the nature of this action, medical professionals, NYPD and security personnel were needed in order to resolve the issue and remove the fan from the stands.”

As the attendee – who was shouting about “environmental issues,” according to the ESPN broadcast – was removed, fans inside the stadium cheered.

Four protesters were involved, and three of them “were escorted out of the stadium without further incident,” according to a statement from the US Tennis Association.

“Throughout history, moments like this are definitely defining moments,” Gauff later told reporters. “I believe in climate change. I don’t really know exactly what they were protesting. I know it was about the environment. I 100% believe in that.

“I think there are things we can do better. I know the tournaments are doing things to do better for the environment. Would I prefer it not happening in my match? 100%, yeah. I’m not gonna sit here and lie. But it is what it is.”

Gauff and Muchová both left the court during the delay as the protestors were escorted out of the stadium.

Climate protestors also disrupted last year’s French Open and matches earlier this year at Wimbledon, where they sprinkled orange confetti and jigsaw puzzle pieces on the grass playing surface.

“I had a feeling it was going to happen this tournament,” said Gauff. “It happened in the French Open, it happened in Wimbledon. So, you know, following the trend, it was definitely going to happen here.

She added: “I wasn’t pissed at the protesters. I know the stadium was because it just interrupted entertainment. I always speak about preaching what you feel and what you believe in. 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 and 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.”

Gauff, the youngest woman to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams in 1999, will next face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka as she bids to win her first grand slam title.