Coco Gauff, 19, and Ben Shelton, 20, reach their first U.S. Open semifinals

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts to the crowd after defeating Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in New York. (Manu Fernandez/AP)

NEW YORK — Coco Gauff knows what it takes to reach a Grand Slam final. Been there, done that. What she hasn't experienced is winning a major championship. So her first trip to the semifinals at the U.S. Open does not leave her satisfied at all, no matter how dominant the performance was that got her to that stage.

"The dreams never came with the people in the stands and autographs. That was never in the dreams," the 19-year-old from Florida said. "It was just, like, the trophy."