Coco Gauff wins a US Open semifinal delayed by a climate protest. Will face Sabalenka in the final

Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts after defeating Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Coco Gauff never wavered one bit Thursday night. Not when match point after match point went by the wayside. Not during a 40-shot exchange that ultimately helped decide the outcome. And not, most distracting of all, when her U.S. Open semifinal against Karolina Muchova was interrupted for 50 minutes by environmental activists — one of whom glued his bare feet to the concrete floor in the stands.

It’s been rather obvious for quite some time that Gauff is no ordinary teenager. Now she is one win away from becoming a Grand Slam champion.

Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, reached her first final at Flushing Meadows by defeating Muchova 6-4, 7-5 on what was anything but an ordinary evening.