Coco Gauff plays anti-grass tennis at Wimbledon to nullify Jessica Pegula for semifinal debut

Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon run has intensified the focus on grass-court tennis as she advanced by neutralizing Jessica Pegula’s rhythm with an “anti-grass” style. On Tuesday at Centre Court, the 22-year-old, a two-time Grand Slam champion, beat the 32-year-old American 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. After three matches showing she has adapted to grass, Gauff entered without a grass-court win in two years. The match plan relied on deeper, heavier baseline forehands and flatter backhands to keep Pegula from attacking the white line and forcing late, difficult responses. Karolína Muchová and Naomi Osaka are next in the semifinals.