Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff came through a gruelling three-hour contest against Marta Kostyuk to reach her first Australian Open semi-final; US Open champion is attempting to win a second successive Grand Slam; Gauff will face Aryna Sabalenka next in a repeat of their Flushing Meadows final
Coco Gauff will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in her first Australian Open semi-final after coming through a huge test against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
The fourth-seeded American, who won the US Open last September for her maiden Grand Slam title, prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 against the world No 37.
The 19-year-old will rarely play as badly and still progress but prevailed after more than three hours on a blistering hot Rod Laver Arena to fulfil her coach Brad Gilbert’s famous maxim by “Winning Ugly”.
“I’m really proud of the fight I showed today, Marta’s a tough opponent, every time we play it’s a tough match,” Gauff said.
“I really fought and left it all out on the court today.”
Gauff, playing her final Grand Slam as a teenager, had swept into the last eight on a nine-match winning streak. But Kostyuk got right in the American’s face from the off, storming into a 5-1 lead, serving twice for the opening set as well holding a set point on Gauff’s serve.
Coco Gauff knew she was up against it and, problem-solving on her feet, battled her way back into the contest by rattling off five successive games to serve for the set herself.
“I was just trying to get one more game in the first set and make it more competitive, then one game turned into another and I was able to win that set,” Gauff added.
