Coco Gauff is a wall: Kostyuk can do nothing against her defense of the US

The best rally of the quarterfinal match between Gauff and Kostyuk was won by the young star US, who managed to prevail thanks to her skilful and effective defense


by LORENZO CIOTTI

Coco Gauff is a wall: Kostyuk can do nothing against her defense of the US
© Darrian Traynor / Stringer Getty Images Sport

Coco Gauff is the first semi-finalist in the Australian Open 2024 women's singles. In a semifinal that lasted three hours and eight minutes, the young American star overcame the resistance of the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, one of the many surprises of this edition of the Melbourne tournament.

Coco prevailed with the final score 7-6 6-7 6-2. In the first set, the Ukrainian tennis player went ahead 5-1 but she was unable to close and was overtaken. It went to a tie break, with the American player winning the decisive game by eight points to six.

In the second set, Coco dictated the pace (4-2) but was unable to bring the match to the finish line. We went back to the decisive game: a tie break which this time the Ukrainian player won with a score of 7-3.

Coco Gauff© Cameron Spencer / Staff Getty Images Sport

In the third set, Kostyuk's energy reserves obviously ran out and Gauff was good at taking advantage of the moment, breaking away at 5-0.

There was a proud reaction from Kostyuk who broke the American's serve, she held her serve and shortened the lead to 5-2. But Gauff closed it out shortly after 6-2 in her service game. Gauff now awaits in the semi-final the winner of the other quarter-final currently being played Barbora between Krejcikova and Aryna Sabalenka.

The amazing rally won by Coco Gauff

One of the best points of the challenge (and perhaps of the women's tournament) was won by Coco Gauff. the US Open winner resisted a very long rally, defending the baseline to the bitter end and sending every ball back to her opponent's side-court.

Thanks to a magnificent forehand-backhand combination, Coco managed to change the momentum of the rally, forcing her opponent to defend and closing the point with a superb forehand down the line. A point which highlighted all the defensive skills and mental strength of the young US player.

Below is the video shared by Australian Open X account:

Coco Gauff