MELBOURNE: Coco Gauff ’s game was a misshapen mess. She had 51 unforced errors and just 17 winners in the three-hour eight-minute clash against the spirited Marta Kostyuk in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old’s serve strayed under the Melbourne sun and her shots weren’t quite finding the court, but her wheels — industrious and clocking highway speeds – steered the fourth seed into the semifinals.
Kostyuk, an adventurous shot maker, went up 5-1 in the opening set. The Ukrainian had a couple of opportunities to serve out the set and even came close with a set point.
The American fought back one-game-at-a-time and levelled at 5-all. In the tie-break, Kostyuk, some 30 minutes after her first set point, had another chance to close, but Gauff pedaled furiously.
The 21-year-old, in a luminous pink dress, rallied to close out the second set to take the match into the decider.
In the end Kostyuk was running on empty. Gauff, playing in a canary yellow two piece that sparked the weather, gave her game a ‘C’ rating on Tuesday. Her fight fuelled her 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3) and 6-2 win that takes her through to Thursday’s clash against the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
The Belarusian, in red-hot form, shut out Czech Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 in a night match.
In the eighth game of the second set, Gauff erred with her forehand in a 21-ball rally that had everything – net approaches, scrambling at the back of the court, big swings and delicate touch.
The American, who had the upper hand, took a wild heave.
Gauff, however, was none the worse after the exchange, she wasn’t even breathing heavily. The American who did some track and basketball growing up, enjoys the thrill of a race. Listing her strengths, the teenager said she leans on her inner steel when the going gets tough.
“My movement (is a strength). When my serve is on that’s a big weapon, same with returns,” the American said.
“My mental strength has gotten me through a lot of matches and I feel mentally I’m one of the strongest out there.” Gauff was cheered on by her family and coaching staff, including Brad Gilbert. The 19-year-old, who has a copy of Gilbert’s 1993 bestseller ‘Winning Ugy’, hasn’t read it.
“My mom actually got it for me when we were in talks of possibly working with Brad. She was like, you need to read this. She read it and I didn’t read it,” Gauff said. “I feel like I got the real version so I don’t need a book.”
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