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Match Details
Fixture: (2) Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs (10) Taylor Townsend/Leylah Fernandez
Date: June 9, 2023
Tournament: French Open 2023
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €49,600,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten
Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Taylor Townsend/Leylah Fernandez preview
Second seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula will take on the American-Canadian combine of Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez in the semifinals of the 2023 French Open on Friday.
Gauff and Pegula started off with a straight-sets win over the pairing of Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. They followed it up with another easy win over Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Americans then staged a comeback to defeat Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostyuk in three sets.
Gauff and Pegula then faced Greet Minnen and Anna Bondar in the quarterfinals. The American duo claimed the first set with ease, but were tested in the second set. They eventually gained the upper hand in the ensuing tie-break to win the match 6-2, 7-6(2).
Townsend and Fernandez, meanwhile, knocked out former Grand Slam champions Sara Errani and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round. They scored a comfortable win over Ingrid Neel and Wu-Fang hsien in the second round, but needed to dig deep to get past Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani in the third round.
Townsend and Fernandez then took on the Chan sisters in the quarterfinals and scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over them. The two have now reached their first Grand Slam semifinal as a team.
Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Taylor Townsend/Leylah Fernandez head-to-head
Gauff/Pegula lead Townsend/Fernandez 1-0 in the head-to-head. They won their previous encounter at the 2023 Miami Open in straight sets.
Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Taylor Townsend/Leylah Fernandez odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Taylor Townsend/Leylah Fernandez prediction
Townsend and Fernandez joined forces earlier this year and have had a decent level of success so far. Meanwhile, Pegula and Gauff have established themselves as a formidable team on the doubles circuit. They've won a couple of titles this season and reached the finals in Madrid and Rome prior to the French Open.
The lefty pairing of Fernandez and Townsend can be a lot to deal with at times. The latter is exceptional at the net, with quick reflexes that turn the point in her team's favor. Pegula and Gauff, on the other hand, have the upper hand when it comes to baseline exchanges.
Their previous and only encounter so far took place a couple of months ago in Miami. Pegula and Gauff claimed a closely fought first set, after which they ran away with the second set to win the title.
The American duo were the runner-ups in Paris last year. Given their form and experience, they should be able to reach another final in the French capital.
Pick: Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to win in three sets.
