MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff’s impressive run of winning sets came to an end at the Australian Open, but her journey toward claiming a second Grand Slam title continued triumphantly on Sunday. The 20-year-old from Florida staged a remarkable comeback to overcome Belinda Bencic with a score of 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth round.
Gauff, who captured her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2023, had previously dominated her matches this year, winning all 16 sets played until this point and 24 of 25 dating back to her victorious end to the last season, which included a win at the WTA Finals.
Initially, the third-seeded Gauff struggled to maintain control during the start of her match against Bencic. The heat of a sweltering afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, where temperatures climbed to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), added to the challenge. As the blue court was soaked in sunlight, fans around the arena sought relief, while Gauff found herself longing for cooler air at the players’ benches.
Her troubles peaked in the first set, where Gauff saw her serve broken during her last two service games, one of which concluded with a pair of double-faults. Throughout the first set, she racked up a staggering 20 unforced errors, causing her to show visible frustration. Gauff would often make gestures towards her coaches’ box, wide-eyed and arms upturned, as if to inquire about her next steps. Following some of her nine double-faults, she would express her frustration by slapping her leg in annoyance.
However, Gauff made significant adjustments following the first set, which lasted over an hour. She began to earn points with greater frequency, skillfully returning serves and showcasing improved accuracy from the baseline. Notably, her unforced errors decreased significantly, and in the second set, she amassed an impressive 17 winners to Bencic’s 2.
By the match’s conclusion, Gauff had regained complete dominance, even signaling the crowd to ramp up their support after executing a quick reflex volley to win a pivotal point in the final game.
A large part of her early struggles stemmed from the formidable skills of Bencic, who is an exceptional ball-striker. Despite holding a current ranking of No. 294, the 27-year-old Swiss player has previously reached a career high of No. 4. She made her return to competitive play only in October after taking maternity leave.
Bencic has previously enjoyed success on hard courts, including a semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open in 2019 and winning a singles gold medal at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. She has, however, faced challenges in reaching the later rounds in Melbourne, having lost in the fourth round on three occasions, including to Maria Sharapova in 2016 and Aryna Sabalenka, the eventual champion, two years ago.
Looking ahead, Gauff is set to face No. 11 Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Badosa earned her place in the final eight by defeating Olga Danilovic with a score of 6-1, 7-6 (2), marking her first appearance in this round at Melbourne.
The victor of the upcoming Gauff-Badosa match will move on to face either the top-seeded Sabalenka, who is aiming for her third consecutive Australian Open title, or No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the runner-up in the 2021 French Open.
Sabalenka extended her winning streak at the Australian Open to 18 matches by defeating 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva with a score of 6-1, 6-2, while Pavlyuchenkova triumphed over No. 18 Donna Vekic, winning 7-6 (0), 6-0.
The last woman to clinch three consecutive titles in Australia was Martina Hingis, who accomplished this feat from 1997 to 1999.
