MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended on the Australian Open. Her bid for a second Grand Slam title continued Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 comeback victory over Belinda Bencic within the fourth spherical.
Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida who gained the 2023 US Open as an adolescent, had collected all 16 units she had performed this 12 months and 24 of her previous 25 relationship to the tip of final season, which included a title on the WTA Finals.
However the match’s No. 3 seed was unable to regulate her photographs effectively sufficient in the beginning towards Bencic on a steamy early afternoon in Rod Laver Enviornment, the place the temperature hit 90 levels and the blue enjoying floor was bathed in daylight.
Spectators seated alongside the perimeters of the court docket fanned themselves; Gauff sought aid because of the cool air offered on the gamers’ sideline benches.
As bother mounted late within the first set, during which Bencic broke in every of Gauff’s final two service video games — one in every of which ended with a pair of double-faults — the American stored lacking the mark, compiling 20 unforced errors.
When her photographs landed into the online, too lengthy or too extensive, or Bencic’s fell past her attain, Gauff repeatedly turned towards her coaches’ field and put her arms extensive with palms up, as if to ask, “What am I purported to do?” After a few of her 9 double-faults, Gauff slapped her leg.
However Gauff recalibrated after the hour-plus first set, accumulating factors in bunches, repeatedly hammering returns of serve and doing a a lot better job of focusing on spots from the baseline. In sum, she was again to her greatest self, and never solely did Gauff lower her unforced errors in half within the second set, however she additionally put collectively a 17-2 edge in winners over that span.
By the tip, Gauff was in management, and he or she motioned to the gang for extra noise after a reflex volley to win a degree within the remaining sport.
A part of the issue within the early going was that Bencic is a terrific ball-striker. Her present rating of No. 294 is deceptive: The 27-year-old from Switzerland, who reached a profession better of No. 4, returned to motion in October after maternity depart.
Bencic’s earlier greatest outcomes have arrived on laborious courts, together with a run to the semifinals of the US Open in 2019 and a singles gold medal on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She’s now 0-3 in fourth-round matches at Melbourne Park, although, dropping beforehand to Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame member Maria Sharapova in 2016 and to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka two years in the past.
Gauff now faces No. 11 Paula Badosa within the quarterfinals Tuesday. Badosa defeated Olga Danilovic 6-1, 7-6 (2) to get to the ultimate eight in Melbourne for the primary time.
The winner of Gauff vs. Badosa will play both No. 1 Sabalenka, who’s in search of a 3rd consecutive Australian Open title, or No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 French Open runner-up.
Sabalenka stretched her successful streak in Melbourne to 18 matches by defeating 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2, and Pavlyuchenkova beat No. 18 Donna Vekic 7-6 (0), 6-0.
Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999, was the final girl with three straight championships in Australia.
Sabalenka hugged Andreeva after the match, waved to the gang, took a photograph together with her Polaroid digital camera and gave a thumbs-up to mark the event.
“I got here up with the thought with my boyfriend, that all year long, we’ll accumulate Polaroid footage,” she mentioned. “And we’ll body it, and I hope we’ll have numerous cool moments this 12 months to gather.”
A winner of 24 consecutive units in Melbourne, she mentioned, “I am tremendous pleased to get via this tough match in straight units.” It was over in simply over an hour.
Other than the fifth sport of the second set, when Sabalenka had a triple breakpoint however Andreeva rallied by successful 5 straight factors to carry, nearly all the pieces went the best way of the No. 1-ranked participant.
Sabalenka did not face a break level till halfway via the second set, when she saved three in a single sport. It appeared like she was testing her serve underneath stress.
The Related Press contributed to this report.