What a difference a year makes! At the 2023 Australian Open, after a fourth-round loss, Coco Gauff was in tears. But now she’s riding high after her win this week. And for the first time ever, the American tennis phenom is advancing to the tournament’s semifinals.
Brad Gilbert, Gauff’s coach, literally penned a book entitled Winning Ugly, and it appears that he has certainly imparted this sentiment. Despite making 51 unforced errors, the 19-year-old was able to beat Marta Kostyuk, who had 56 unforced errors of her own, in a quarterfinal match in three sets over the course of 3 hours and eight minutes.
While the play on the court was certainly theatrical on Tuesday, there was also some drama on the sidelines. Kostyuk’s husband wore a hat “that said ‘shake your cocos’ to her match against Gauff.” Fans criticized his choice in attire, but Gauff didn’t let it phase her.
However it was still a nailbiter and come-from-behind victory for the No. 4 ranked tennis star after being down “1-5 in the opening set.”
“Gauff was forced to rally to pull out a win by tiebreaker in the first set,” Deadspin reports. Fortunately, she was able to turn it around, and “[s]ometime around the two-and-a-half-hour mark, she…ended up running away with the match.”
In reflecting on her performance, said Gauff said, “Today was definitely a C-game…Didn’t play my best tennis but really proud that I was able to get through. Hopefully got the bad match out of the way and I can play even better.”
“Today was frustrating because I knew how I needed to play. I just couldn’t execute,” continued Gauff. “Eventually I was able to find it, which is what I’m proud of.”
“I’m really happy and proud of the fight I showed today,” Gauff added. “Marta’s a really tough opponent; every time we play it’s [a] tough match. I really fought and left it out on the court today.”
But a win is a win—and Gauff is still breaking records. She’s now “the first women teenager to appear in consecutive Grand Slam semifinals in more than 15 years.”
Gauff’s streak continues. Including her U.S. Open play in September, Gauff “has now won 12 straight Grand Slam matches and improves to 10-0 in 2024, saving two set points in the opening set and shaking off a second-set hiccup.”