Tennis - Australian open 2024 -
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff lined up a seeded semi-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday, with Sabalenka now just two wins away from defending her 2023 title
The holder hammered 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 to win her eighth quarter-final at a major.
The second seed will continue her quest for a title repeat as she takes on teenaged Gauff in a Thursday semi-final.
No. 4 Gauff survived a three-hour-plus festival of errors as she struggled to overcome Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2, reaching her first semi-final here.
It was the longest match of the teenager’s career.
Sabalenka charged ahead in 74 minutes into a replay of the 2023 US Open final won by Gauff in September.
“It was a great match today, i played well,” the winner said. “I hope it can stay this way for more matches.
“The final tonight reminds me of the atmosphere in the final last year,” Sabalenka said after finishing a contest which got underway two hours late after Gauff and the Novak Djokovic men’s win took almost seven hours to complete.
The 25-year-old has reached at least the semi-final stage at her last five majors.
Between them, Gauff and Ukrainian Kostyuk produced a cumulative 107 unforced errors, including 17 double-faults; the pair managed just over 50 winners, with the fist two sets each taking well over an hour each.
The 19-year-old rengining US Open champion Gauff won her 10th match in a row this season as she finished on her first match point. The match comprised 36 break points with just under half converted.
“I’m happy and proud of the fight I showed,” the Floridian said. “I left it all out there on the court.
“I got passive in the second wet (after winning the first from a huge deficit) but in the third I played more aggressive, trying to hit through the court,” added the seed who munches on fruit salad rather than energy gels during changeovers.
The opening set quickly set the tone for the afternoon struggle in 31 Celsius heat. with the 37th-ranked Kostyuk earning a 5-1 lead on the back of two breaks of the American’s serve.
Gauff managed to claw back to 5-all – salvaging a set point in the eighth game – with the pair then exchanging a final round of breaks before the tiebreaker.
The American saved another set point in the decider before converting on her own first winning chance to take the lead after 72 minutes.
Gauff squeaked through with just five winners and a massive 24 unforced errors while Kostyuk’s 26 ran the set total to 50. .
The two exchanged breaks of serve to start the second set but Gauff failed to impress as she was broken while serving for the match leading a set and 5-3, with Kostyuk going on to level the match.
Gauff looked like running away with the third set, taking a 5-0 lead and dropping two games before finally running out the winner.
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