Coco Gauff’s 13-match winning streak came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, with No. 11 Paula Badosa defeating her 7-5, 6-4. The American struggled with unforced errors and double-faults, which accumulated throughout the match.
After a disappointing title defense at the US Open last September, Gauff made tweaks to her stroke and coaching team to tackle her weaknesses in Melbourne. She hoped to earn a second Grand Slam title but was unable to take control of the match on a hot afternoon in Rod Laver Arena.
Gauff’s serve, which had shown significant improvement since the US Open, proved vulnerable, and she never earned a break point until after already being down a set. Badosa capitalized on Gauff’s mistakes, winning four of her service games.
“I’m playing with solutions,” Gauff said, but ultimately fell short. “I feel like I’m on the road to the right way, but there’s just more work to do.”
Badosa, 27, has overcome a stressful fracture in her back and subsequent cortisone injections to reach this point. She credited her new team and training for her improvement.
The victory marked Badosa’s first Grand Slam semifinal and sets up a potential showdown with close friend Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals.
Source: https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/43498447/badosa-tops-error-prone-gauff-australian-open-semis