Gauff d. Marta Kostyuk 7-6(6) 6-7(3) 6-2 at the Australian Open Coco remains undefeated in 2024. ✅1st Australian Open SF ✅3rd Grand Slam SF ✅Won 34 of last 38 matches ✅10 match win streak “You can change the world with your racquet.” 🇺🇸❤️
MATCH REPORT | 2024 Australian Open: Coco GAUFF battles through, secures semifinal berth after tough encounter with Marta KOSTYUK
WTATuesday, 23 January 2024 at 07:54
Coco Gauff
secures her place in the semifinals after defeating Marta Kostyuk 7-6(6), 6-7(3), 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open. The American, entering as the
4th seed, had the responsibility of taking the initiative against the Ukrainian
world No. 37.
Gauff had
not encountered any difficulties on her way to the quarterfinals, winning all
her matches in straight sets. On the other hand, Kostyuk quietly made her way
to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a convincing victory over Maria
Timofeeva, 6-2, 6-1, in the fourth round.
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Both
players started by holding their service games, with Gauff causing problems for
the Ukrainian from the baseline. The world No. 4 began with unforced errors,
allowing Kostyuk to take a break in the fourth game. Kostyuk saved three break
points against her and was 5-1 up with the opportunity to comfortably serve out
the set.
Then came
the reaction from the 2023 US Open champion, who, without much aggression,
capitalized on Kostyuk's erratic moment. Coco secured three consecutive breaks,
turning the score from 1-5 to 6-5, even saving a set point against her.
However, with constant errors from both sides, Kostyuk, in her worst moment,
showed resilience and earned a break point to take the set to a tie-break.
She also
displayed physical discomfort in her foot, prompting a medical timeout that
halted the match for about 10 minutes. The Ukrainian received a bandage to
continue with the tiebreak, and similar to the set itself, serving
irregularities dictated the outcome, with Gauff ultimately prevailing 7-6(8-6).
The American totaled 24 unforced errors and only 5 winners, while Kostyuk
recorded 14 winners and 26 unforced errors.
In the
second set, Kostyuk initially took control of the match despite the even score.
The Ukrainian set the pace in the early games, but errors proved costly against
Gauff, who stood firm behind the baseline, engaging in extended rallies to
force her opponent to take risks.
Both
players secured a break early on and maintained parity until the sixth game,
where the North American secured a break to go 4-2 ahead and held her service
to further extend the lead.
In a
thrilling return game, Kostyuk managed to recover the break, narrowing the gap
to 4-3. However, she squandered opportunities to level the set and ultimately
conceded her service game, allowing the American to take a commanding 5-3 lead.
The Ukrainian fought until the end and, with great defense, secured the break
to level at 5-5. Subsequently, both players, minimizing their errors, took the
set to a tie-break, where Kostyuk prevailed, incredibly forcing the match into
a third set.
Unfortunately
for the Ukrainian, she seemed to run out of fuel, visibly tired after three
hours of battling with Gauff. In the previous rounds, Gauff had spent just 4
hours and 48 minutes on the court, a far cry from Kostyuk's 8 hours and 43
minutes. Kostyuk could no longer match Gauff's pace in the final set.
The first game of the third set was highly contested, but Gauff eventually secured the break to take the lead. From that moment on, Kostyuk struggled to keep up with her opponent, who won five consecutive games. Although there was a slight comeback from her rival, Gauff sealed the victory with a score of 7-6(6), 6-7(3), 6-1.
Gauff
reaches the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the third time in her career and the
first time at the Australian Open. In her quest for the final, she will face
the winner of the match between the 9th seed Barbora Krejcikova and the
defending champion and 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka.
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