Gauff and Pegula fall in Australian Open doubles semifinals to Japanese duo of Aoyama and Shibahara

The campaign of reaching the women's doubles finals at the 2023 Australian Open came to an end for the American duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, who fell to the 11th-seeded Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibara on Friday afternoon in Melbourne.

Aoyama and Shibara played some inspired tennis to secure a 6-2 7-6(7) victory over the second-seeded Americans, saving set points in the tiebreak before escaping with the victory. The Japanese duo were dominant in the opening set, whereas Gauff and Pegula appeared more reserved. Pegula in particular looked out-of-sorts in the first set, lacking aggressiveness and confidence behind her groundstrokes.

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The American team seemed to right the ship in the second set, obtaining a break to lead 3-1. However, Aoyama and Shibara fought back to level the score, before forcing a tiebreak. It was here that their grit and determination was evident, as the saved two set points before closing out the match after an hour and 23 minutes.

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The Japanese duo will face the top-seeded Czech pair of Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova, with Aoyama and Shibara hoping to lift their first Grand Slam doubles title as a team.