Coco Gauff, the US Open champion, overcame a challenging match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, ranked 37th in the world, winning 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the first time on Tuesday. The American, ranked fourth, rarely played this poorly while leading but managed to secure the win after more than three hours on Rod Laver Arena, fulfilling her coach Brad Gilbert's famous quote about "ugly wins."
Gauff expressed pride in her fighting spirit, saying, "I'm really proud of the fight I showed today. Marta is a tough competitor; every time we play together, it's a tough match. Yes, I really fought and gave it my all on the court today." Gauff, who last competed in the four major tournaments as a young player, reached the quarterfinals after winning nine consecutive matches and was looking to solidify her victory by claiming her first Grand Slam title after winning in New York last year.
However, Kostyuk challenged the American's shots right from the start, taking a 5-1 lead and serving twice to win the first set while giving herself a chance to clinch the set and serve against Gauff. The 19-year-old American realized she was facing a significant challenge and worked on her footwork, making a comeback by winning five consecutive games to take the set.
"I was just trying to make the first set more competitive and turned one game into another, then I was able to win the set," Gauff remarked. Kostyuk was repeatedly glancing at her coach as her confidence waned, yet she earned three break points through Gauff's forehand to force a tiebreak when the American committed a double fault on her serve.
The Ukrainian player rejuvenated herself after treating blisters on her feet before the tiebreak but squandered her second set point, allowing Gauff to quickly close in at the net to clinch the set. Both players exchanged breaks during the second set, which featured a long rally, but Gauff managed to take a lead and serve for the match at 5-3. Nevertheless, a combination of Gauff's weak second serve and Kostyuk's successful offensive shots—she hit 39 winners throughout the match—allowed the Ukrainian to break back and equalize the sets at 1-1.
Gauff found the solution with Kostyuk tiring in the third set by increasing the speed of her first serve and backhands, though she got broken when serving to win the match for the second time. She finally achieved her goal in the third attempt, setting up a semifinal clash with Aryna Sabalenka—in a rematch of last year’s US Open final—or ninth-seed Barbora Krejcikova.
