Coco Gauff advanced into her first Australian Open semifinal after outlasting the unseeded Marta Kostyuk.
The US Open champion took her three hours and eight minutes to dispatch the gritty Ukrainian, 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (3/7), in Rod Laver Arena.
“Happy, really proud of the fight I showed today,” said Gauff, who is seeking her first Aussie Open title.
“Marta is a tough opponent… I really fought and left it all on the court today.”
Both Gauff and Kostyuk showed signs of faltering in the clutch moments, tallying 16 service breaks and 107 unforced errors throughout the match.
The American erased Kostyuk’s 5-1 in the opening set, as she took advantage of the Ukrainian’s meltdown in crunch time.
Despite dropping the second set, Gauff asserted her mastery in the deciding set, as she raced out to a 5-0 lead.
The frustrated Kostyuk failed to recover from the beatdown, as Gauff marched her way into the semis.
The fourth-seeded Gauff will either face Aryna Sabalenka or ninth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova in the semis on Thursday.
