In the latest reminder that nothing can be taken for granted in the rollercoaster ride that is the Australian Open women’s singles, Coco Gauff flirted with disaster against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk before surviving an error-strewn contest to reach the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time.
The 19-year-old American preserved her unbeaten start to the season with a resourceful but unsightly 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 win that featured plenty of spirit and determination but also a whopping 51 unforced errors. In that sense it was by far the dirtiest of what is now, following her triumph at last year’s US Open, a dozen straight grand slam victories for Gauff, who will nonetheless need to improve significantly if she to repeat the victory over Aryna Sabalenka that earned her that maiden grand slam success.
The one saving grace for Gauff was that Kostyuk, a 21-year-old from Kyiv ranked 35 in the world, was even more erratic. Playing in the first major singles quarter-final of her career, Kostyuk was unable to capitalise on a 5-1 lead in the opening set, twice missing set points as nerves – and, later, frustration – got the better of her. So too did an unforced error count that had reached 56 by the time Gauff, who joked afterwards that she ought to read Winning Ugly, the seminal book written by her coach Brad Gilbert, rounded off the longest grand slam match of her career in three hours and eight minutes.
“It was a fight,” said Gauff of a contest played in sweltering conditions. “I think today was definitely a C game, so I didn’t play my best tennis, but I’m really proud that I was able to get through. Hopefully, I got the bad match out of the way.
“I bought a copy [of Winning Ugly] but I didn’t read it. Maybe I should add it to my reading list. My mom actually got it for me when we were in the talks of just possibly working with Brad, and she was like, ‘You need to read this.’ She read it and I didn’t read it.
“But I feel like I got the real version, so I don’t need a book. But maybe it could help. I’ll probably do it just to surprise him.”
After a performance that stood in marked contrast to Gauff’s seamless progress through the first four rounds at Melbourne Park, there may already be some surprise on Gilbert’s part. Yet for all the fourth seed’s struggles, huge credit must go to Kostyuk, a gifted athlete and powerful ball-striker who, at a tournament where she has striven to highlight the ongoing war in her native Ukraine, once again demonstrated tremendous mental and emotional resilience.
Despite the disappointment of missing two set points in the opener – the second, a rushed inside-out forehand at 6-5 in the tiebreak, was a particular source of dismay – Kostyuk kept coming, breaking at the start of the second set, breaking again when Gauff served for the match in the ninth game, and even pulling back a couple of games from 5-0 down in the decider. Set to enter the top 30 for the first time following her run in Melbourne, Kostyuk is rightly ringing the positives.
“For me, it’s a win, because I was playing one of the best girls in the world and managed to be still very close,” said the Ukrainian. “It feels far, but also very close. This whole tournament I think is a big win for me.”
Whether it will also be a big win for Gauff will depend on how quickly she can put this performance behind her and make a rapid return to form against Sabalenka. Through to a sixth straight grand slam semi-final after demolishing Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3, the Belarusian defending champion has yet to drop more than three games in a set in Melbourne.
“I think my mindset is that I’m not getting crazy on court, I’m not rushing things,” said Sabalenka, the second seed, of her newfound consistency on the game’s biggest stages. “I’m just playing point by point, and that’s it, and fighting for every point without overthinking about my dreams, about what I want to do, about how many slams I want to win and all that stuff.
“I was able to separate myself from that kind of mentality and just start focusing on myself and focusing on things I can improve.”
Sabalenka’s focus was certainly admirable against Krejcikova, particularly after a late start caused by the length of the day session, which overran when Gauff’s epic win was followed by a protracted struggle between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
Sabalenka and Krejcikova, who eventually arrived on court well after 9pm, were controversially asked by tournament organisers if they would care to play on Margaret Court Arena, which has about half the capacity of Rod Laver Arena. Understandably, they declined.
“I think for the quarter-finals match, it’s important to be played on such a big stadium,” said Sabalenka.