"I just feel older than 19": Coco Gauff equals tally set by Serena Williams of Grand Slam Quarter-Finals as a teenager but feels old in the process

Coco Gauff has reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open, surpassing Serena Williams' teenage record of reaching at least the fourth round of the tournament on three occasions. Gauff, at the age of 19, will be competing in her sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal. She secured her first title at the 2023 US Open and reached the final at the French Open. This marks her first quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne.

At the same age, Serena Williams had achieved one appearance in the third round, one in the fourth round, and reached the quarterfinals in 2001 at the Australian Open. Gauff has exhibited superior performance as a teenager, particularly in Australia, making it to the fourth round for the third time.

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The current world No. 4 dominated the octaves final, defeating Magdalena Frech with a convincing score of 6-1, 6-2 in just 66 minutes. Gauff expressed her optimism, saying, "Hopefully, I can keep going for more."

“I definitely do forget my age a lot,” Gauff admitted. “Honestly, this morning I saw a post that it was three fourth rounds, first teenager. Sometimes I forget,” she added.

“I know I'm not going to be a teenager anymore, but I just feel like I've lived so many lives the last four years, that I just feel older than 19. I remember like when I'm looking at the other girls on tour who are 16, and now coming up, 16, 17, like they just feel so young and I just feel so old. I know I'm not that old.”

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Next challenge: Marta Kostyuk

At just 21 years old, Marta Kostyuk has already established herself as a seasoned player on the tour. The 2007 Australian Open Junior champion reached the third round in her debut at only 15 years old, boasting a 20-15 record in her 16 Grand Slam appearances since then.

Securing a career-best ranking with her quarterfinal berth, Kostyuk is set to break into the top 30 after the conclusion of the Aussie Open. Commenting on her journey, she noted, “Every Slam and every tournament is so unique and so different. Someone can have a very easy draw, and someone can have an extremely difficult one.”

Reflecting on the 2021 US Open final between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez, both teenagers, Kostyuk emphasized the contrast in their paths. "I have the easiest example of when Leylah and Emma were playing the final, what draw Leylah had and what draw Emma had.”

“Emma, no offense, but Leylah was really fighting for her life every single match. We will see. Maybe I will sit here in one week and be like: ‘Oh, you know, it was not that bad. It was actually easy.’ We will see."

During that memorable occasion, Raducanu advanced from the qualifying rounds, facing only two seeded players on her way to the final: the 11th seed Belinda Bencic in the quarters and the 17th seed Maria Sakkari in the semifinal. In contrast, Fernandez navigated a tougher route, defeating top-seeded players like Naomi Osaka (No. 3), Angelique Kerber (No. 16), Elina Svitolina (No. 5), and Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2), ultimately falling to Raducanu in the final.

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