Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka Set Up Scintillating Semi-Final ...

The 2023 Australian Open defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, after breezing past Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 into the 2024 Grand Slam semi-final, a repeat of the US Open final, won by Coco Gauff. Photo: Aryna Sabalenka on Instagram

The first semi-final of the 2024 Australian Open has been dubbed as the final before the final, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka setting up a sensational final with American teenager star Coco Gauff. 

Gauff battled to beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in three sets in Melbourne to win 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2, making 51 unforced errors in three hours. 

“Today was frustrating because I knew how I needed to play. I just couldn’t execute … Eventually I was able to find it, which is what I’m proud of. Problem solving is tennis!”  2024 Australian Open Semi-Finalist, Coco Gauff

“You could play someone today and maybe a week later they’ll play you, completely different. It’s a part of it. At the end of the day, you’re given a scouting report, but you have to go with feeling. That’s what I did today.”

Sabalenka brushed aside Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 win to set up a repeat of September’s exciting US Open final, in which Gauff came back from a set down to win a first major title.

“I think it was a really great match today. I played really great tennis. “I really hope that I can keep playing that way, or even better.” 2023 Australian Open Defending Champion, Aryna Sabalenka

Gauff is on a bid to become the first women’s player since Naomi Osaka three years ago to win back-to-back majors, and is now on a 10-match winning streak at the start the season.

The US Open champion will look to improve in her next performance: “I think it was definitely a ‘C’ game. 

“I didn’t play my best tennis but really proud that I was able to get through the match,” said Gauff. “Hopefully I got the bad match out of the way, and I can play even better.”

2024 Australian Open Remaining Quarter-Finals:

Linda Noskova (Cze) vs Dayana Yastremska (Ukr)Anna Kalinskaya (Rus) vs Qinwen Zheng (Chn) (12)

Main Photo Caption: The 2023 Australian Open defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, after breezing past Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 into the 2024 Grand Slam semi-final, a repeat of the US Open final, won by Coco Gauff. Photo: Aryna Sabalenka on Instagram

Tags: 2024 Australian Open, Anna Kalinskaya, Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Brand South Africa, Coco Gauff, Dayana Yastremska, Grand Slam, gsport, gsport Newsroom, gsport4girls, Linda Noskova, Marta Kostyuk, Melbourne, Momentum, Qinwen Zheng, Telkom, tennis, US Open, Women’s Professional Tennis, Women’s Tennis

About the Author: