Gauff drops a set but reaches quarterfinals

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Coco Gauff celebrates after defeating Belinda Bencic in a fourth round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday. ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Howard Fendrich

The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia >> Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended at the Australian Open. Her bid for a second Grand Slam title continued on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 comeback victory over Belinda Bencic in the fourth round.

Afterward, Gauff drew a broken heart on the lens of a courtside TV camera with the message, “ RIP TikTok USA,” a reference to the ban of the popular app back home.

Until Sunday, Gauff — a 20-year-old from Florida who won the 2023 U.S. Open as a teenager — had collected all 16 sets she’d played this year and 24 of her past 25 dating to the end of last season, which included a title at the WTA Finals.

“In the first set, she played great tennis, and it was tough for me to be on the offense,” Gauff said after grabbing the last five games against Bencic. “I just played more aggressively in the second set and then also the third set.”

The tournament’s No. 3 seed was unable to control her shots well enough at the start against Bencic on a steamy early afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, where the temperature hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) and the blue playing surface was bathed in sunlight.

Gauff now faces No. 11 Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Badosa defeated Olga Danilovic 6-1, 7-6 (2) to get to the final eight in Melbourne for the first time.

The winner of Gauff vs. Badosa will play either No. 1 Sabalenka, who is seeking a third consecutive Australian Open title, or No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 French Open runner-up.

The men’s quarterfinals Tuesday will be Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 12 Tommy Paul. Djokovic, who has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park, beat No. 24 Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4), while Alcaraz advanced when No. 15 Jack Draper quit because of a hip problem after two sets.

Zverev, a two-time major runner-up, defeated No. 14 Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Paul, a semifinalist in Australia in 2023, eliminated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

Sabalenka stretched her winning streak in Melbourne to 18 matches by defeating 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2, and Pavlyuchenkova beat No. 18 Donna Vekic 7-6 (0), 6-0.

Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999, was the last woman with three straight championships in Australia.

A year ago, Gauff reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time, before losing to Sabalenka.