MELBOURNE: Spain’s Paula Badosa stunned error-prone third seed Coco Gauff 7-5 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday to reach the last four at a Grand Slam for the first time.
It was a thoroughly deserved victory for Badosa on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena as she set up a meeting with double defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“I’m a bit emotional, as you know, I’m a very emotional person,” said the 11th seed, who sank to her knees in disbelief after sealing her spot in the last four with her 15th winner.
“The last Slams, the quarter-finals were very tough, so today I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it … I’m super proud of the level I gave today.”
Gauff’s bid to reach her fifth Grand Slam semi-final, and second in a row at Melbourne Park, foundered on her fragile serve and no fewer than 28 unforced errors on her forehand.
Badosa showed her intentions early on in a tight first set by attacking the 20-year-old’s forehand to grab a couple of break points in the third game.
Gauff saved both but Badosa came back at her in the 11th game, earning a third break point with a backhand volley and converting it with a huge cross-court winner off the forehand.
The American fought hard to get back on serve but two wild shots helped Badosa to a set point and she converted it when the third seed went long with a forehand.
Badosa kept up the pressure in the 14-minute opening game of the second set as Gauff’s serve started to creak and the 27-year-old converted her fifth break point to edge ahead.
Former U.S. Open champion Gauff had yet to carve out a single break point and that continued as Badosa held to consolidate her advantage at 2-0.
Gauff had fought back from a set down to win her last two meetings with Badosa and upped her intensity to break back for 2-2.
A fifth double fault of the match let Badosa back into the next game, though, and a couple of forehand winners gave the Spaniard a third break of the contest, while another in game seven blew the lead out to 5-2.
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Badosa knew she was on the brink of moving into uncharted waters in her career and Gauff exploited her nerves to break back again but the Spanish number one made no mistake when serving for the match at the second attempt.
“I think I manage the emotions a little bit better, not always, but sometimes,” said Badosa.
“This is a dream come true.”
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