Australian Open: Gauff outlasts Kostyuk in thrilling three-setter

Coco Gauff won against Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2 on Tuesday night. She’ll face the winner of the match between No 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, in the next round

Virginie Bouyer / Panoramic

Bren Gray

January 23, 2024

Australian Open •Quarter-final • completed

See draw

M. KostyukvsC. Gauff

American Coco Gauff, the No 4 seed, moved into the last four of the Australian Open by beating Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2 at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

This is the 19-year-old’s first semi-final appearance at the Australian Open, and extends her unbeaten streak at Grand Slams to 12 matches after she won the US Open in 2023.

“Really proud of the fight I showed today,” a composed Gauff said after the three-set victory. “Marta is a tough opponent, every time we play it’s a tough match. I really fought and left it all out on the court today.”

shared tiebreaks see match in the balance

The match was an incredible back-and-forth affair, with Kostyuk initially starting the faster of the two and racing out to a 5-1 lead in the first set. Gauff dug her heels in and stormed back into the set, however, leveling at 5-5 before the opening exchange went to a tiebreaker.

“I was just trying to get into the first set and make it competitive,” explained Gauff. “Then one game turned into another and I was able to win that set.”

While the American came up clutch in the first set tiebreak, she couldn’t find a repeat in the second, with Kostyuk winning the second tiebreak.

resilient Gauff steps it up and races home

However, in the third set, Gauff came out with the perfect combination of aggression and accuracy. This combated the sometimes reckless tennis of her opponent, who began spraying more and more low percentage shots.

“When I came out in the third I was just trying to play aggressive and hit through the court because I knew if I left something standing she was going to take advantage,” said Gauff.

Gauff’s stamina and willingness to play percentage tennis ultimately won her the match, with the teenager racing through the final set to win 6-2 and book her place in the semi-finals against either No 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova or Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed.