Gauff fights back to join Sabalenka in quarters

Australian Open 2025

Dates: 12-26 January Venue: Melbourne Park

Coverage: Live vigor commentary connected Tennis Breakfast from 07:00 GMT connected BBC 5 Sports Extra, positive unrecorded substance commentaries connected the BBC Sport website and app

Coco Gauff fought from a acceptable down to bushed Belinda Bencic and articulation defending champion Aryna Sabalenka successful the Australian Open quarter-finals.

The American 3rd effect was not astatine her champion but outlasted Switzerland's Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1.

Earlier, Sabalenka breezed past Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva successful a 6-1 6-2 victory.

Gauff's triumph successful 34 grade vigor - the hottest time of the tourney truthful acold - extends the 20-year-old winning tally to 11 matches.

"Maybe a mates of years ago, if I mislaid the archetypal acceptable I mightiness suffer the match, and I retrieve my dada said 'we've got to toughen you up'," said Gauff.

"I was conscionable trying to enactment myself successful the presumption wherever I could permission the tribunal and consciousness arrogant of myself."

Belarusian apical effect Sabalenka, 26, meanwhile, remains connected people for her 3rd consecutive Australian Open rubric aft wrapping up her triumph implicit Andreeva successful conscionable 62 minutes connected Rod Laver Arena.

It was the two-time champion's 18th triumph successful a enactment astatine Melbourne Park, and sets up a quarter-final necktie with different Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

She bushed Croatia's Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-0) 6-0 successful the 4th circular earlier connected Sunday.

Gauff volition play 11th effect Paula Badosa successful the past 8 aft the Spaniard defeated Serbia's Olga Danilovic 6-1 7-6.

Should they some triumph their quarter-final ties, Sabalenka and Gauff volition conscionable successful the semi-finals.

Gauff came into her lucifer with Tokyo Olympic golden medallist Bencic having not dropped a acceptable successful 8 matches this season.

But arsenic she has connected erstwhile occasions, she struggled with her service passim and 2 treble faults from the American handed Bencic the decisive interruption she needed to instrumentality the archetypal acceptable successful 62 minutes.

Despite serving 9 treble faults throughout, Gauff started to instrumentality power midway done the lucifer earlier Bencic faded successful the Melbourne vigor successful the second stages.

A hard-fought clasp aft 3 deuces acceptable Gauff connected her mode astatine the commencement of the 3rd acceptable earlier breaking to spell 3-1 up and safely seeing retired the remainder of the encounter.

"I thought, archetypal set, she played large tennis and it was pugnacious for maine to beryllium connected the offensive," said Gauff.

"I conscionable played much aggressively successful the 2nd acceptable and past besides the 3rd set. But overall, I'm blessed with however I played."

Sabalenka has faltered connected occasions during this year's Australian Open, dropping her service 8 times successful her erstwhile 2 wins, but was backmost to her imperious champion against teen Andreeva.

She started strongly, powering done her archetypal 2 work games without dropping a constituent earlier breaking for a 4-1 lead.

Sabalenka broke again earlier a good backhand wrapped up the archetypal acceptable successful conscionable 24 minutes.

Andreeva showed glimpses of a fightback successful the 2nd set, earning 3 interruption points, but they were each saved by Sabalenka arsenic she cruised to victory.

"I'm ace blessed to get this win. Mirra is truthful young, truthful mature, specified a large player. She tin play truly large tennis," said Sabalenka.

"I'm ace blessed with my level contiguous and I anticipation the conditions enactment the aforesaid for the remainder of the tournament."

Sabalenka is aiming to go the archetypal pistillate since Martina Hingis 26 years agone to triumph 3 consecutive Australian Open titles.

Only 4 different women person achieved the feat successful past - Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.