Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff got the last laugh.
The 19-year-old American tennis star clapped back after the husband of her Australian Open opponent, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, seemingly tried to troll Gauff during their quarterfinal match on Monday.
Coco Gauff defeated Kostyuk, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2, in a match that lasted over three hours to advance to the semifinal.
Kostyuk’s husband, Heorhii, was seen courtside wearing a hat that said “shake your cocos” with an image of a coconut broken in half, seemingly poking fun at Gauff’s first name.
After her win, Coco Gauff posted an Instagram Story captioned “shakey shake” with a heart and laughing face emojis.
Gauff admitted that she was far from her best in the match, however.
“Today was definitely a C-game,” Gauff said. “Didn’t play my best tennis but really proud that I was able to get through. Hopefully got the bad match out of the way and I can play even better.
“… I knew going in, playing her, it was (going to be) a tough match. She’s pretty athletic, and we kind of play similar. Today she was just more offensive, which I wish I was taking the offense from the beginning.”
Kostyuk, 21, married Heorhii in Cyprus last November.
Monday’s match marked the first time Kostyuk reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam.
“Very proud of myself,” Kostyuk said. “I won for myself today and it’s the most important thing. It’s just the beginning of the season. Looking forward for what’s ahead.”
Coco Gauff will next face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
It’ll be a rematch of September’s U.S. Open final, where Gauff won, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, for her first major title.
“I love it. I love it,” Sabalenka said of the matchup with Gauff. “After [the] U.S. Open, I really wanted that revenge, and, I mean, that’s a great match.”
