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Coco Gauff knocked out of Australian Open as Paula Badosa storms into her maiden Grand Slam semis

Jan 21, 2025 09:01 AM IST

Paula Badosa beat Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4 to knock the third seed out of the Australian Open and advance to her maiden Grand Slam semi-finals.

World No.3 Coco Gauff was knocked out of the Australia Open 2025 after losing to Paula Badosa in the quarter-final of the women's singles event. Badosa, the 11th seed, beat Gauff in straight games (7-5, 6-4) to advance to her maiden Grand Slam semi-finals. She became only the fourth Spaniard to reach the semi-finals in a Grand Slam women's singles event. It took her three attempts to cross the quarter-final hurdle of a Grand Slam. The last time Badosa reached the quarter-finals, Emma Navvaro beat her in the US Open.

Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Paula Badosa of Spain during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)(AP)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Paula Badosa of Spain during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)(AP)

This was also Badosa's first win against a top-10 player in a Grand Slam event.

“It is an unbelievable moment. To overcome this and beat Coco, who was playing insane tennis in the beginning, was amazing,” said Badosa, fighting hard to get a hold of her emotions.

Badosa will face either two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who play later, for a place in the final at Melbourne Park.

Badosa outplayed Gauff on the second serve at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. The Spaniard's win percentage on the second serve was 68 compared to Gauff's 44. She was also superb at attacking Gauff's serve, earning 10 break points, out of which she converted four.

Third seed Gauff had been unbeaten in nine matches this season but dropped her first set of 2025 against Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic in the last 16, and more than met her match in the Spaniard.

The 20-year-old former US Open champion was put under pressure immediately in the first set by the aggressive Badosa, which set the tone.

Gauff was serving at 5-5 30-40 when the Spaniard got the breakthrough on her third break-point opportunity and served out to take the opener in 56 minutes.

The American, uncharacteristically, failed to create any break points in the first set and littered her game with unforced errors.

Badosa was relentless at the start of the second set in a marathon first game that lasted for 14 minutes and went to eight deuces.

Gauff saved four break points but a fifth proved costly as the American went long to drop her serve again.

A rasping running forehand winner and a backhand at the net put Gauff on the board and fired her up as broke back to level at 2-2.

But Badosa powered to another two breaks and secured the match in 1hr 43min, falling to the court in celebration as she registered her first win over a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam in four attempts.

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Stay updated with the latest sports news, including latest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, where Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all the action from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, follow your favourite football teams and players with the latest match results, and get the latest on international hockey tournaments and series.
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