Australian Open: Paula Badosa eliminates third seed Coco Gauff to reach semi-finals in Melbourne | Tennis News

Coco Gauff’s winning streak ended against Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The American third seed arrived in Melbourne as the tournament’s best player after winning the WTA Finals at the end of last season and then all five singles matches at the United Cup, including one against Iga Swiatek.

Serena entered the quarter-final match with Badosa, seeded 11th, after 13 consecutive victories, but it was the Spanish player who prevailed 7-5, 6-4.

Badosa feared that she would be forced to retire last year due to a chronic back problem, but she finished the season strongly, reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open, and has now achieved a new level in Melbourne.

“I came in today and wanted to play my best, and I think I did that,” she said. “Coco, at first she was playing crazy tennis, but I’m very proud of the level she played today.

“A year ago I was here with my back down and didn’t know if I should retire from this sport and now here I am playing against the best in the world. I won today, and I’m in the semi-finals. I would never think about that a year after I’ve been here.”

The two players held serve until the score was 5-5 in the first set, before Badosa scored a goal before taking a 5-2 lead in the second set.

She was unable to serve the first time she called, but made no mistake the second time around to set up a showdown against top seed Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Gauff felt sorry for the 41 unforced errors, but was philosophical afterward, saying: “Paula was playing wonderfully. Perhaps some moments in the first set could have gone in my favor, and the result could have been different in the first set.”

“I think there’s a lot of work to do. Obviously I’m disappointed, but I’m not completely devastated. I’m looking forward to a lot. Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m on an upward trajectory.”

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