Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka cruise through to Australian Open quarter-finals with straight-sets wins

ByEurosport

Published 21/01/2024 at 06:22 GMT

Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka continued their serene progression at the Australian Open with wins against Magdalena Frech and Amanda Anisimova. Neither player has dropped a set at this year’s event and are the standout favourites for the tournament, particularly after the shock exit of Iga Swiatek. Gauff faces Marta Kostyuk next while Sabalenka plays either Mirra Andreeva or Barbora Krejcikova.

Coco Gauff beat Magdalena Frech 6-1 6-2 to make the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.

The US champion took just 63 minutes to overcome world No. 69 Frech, who was making an appearance in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

The world No. 3 Gauff is yet to drop a set in Melbourne Park this year and moves on to a last-eight encounter with Marta Kostyuk.

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"First Aussie quarter-final, super happy to be in this position and be here," Gauff said in her on-court interview after the match.

"It's cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more."

The 19-year-old set the tone for the match with a break in the opening game and added another two breaks to wrap up the first set in supreme fashion.

The second set followed a similar pattern: Gauff domination. She added a further two breaks to progress with the minimum of fuss, sealing the win with a backhand winner.

Gauff did not face a break point on her serve in a thoroughly dominant performance.

She will face another first-time Australian Open quarter-finalist, Kostyuk, up next.

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Elsewhere, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka produced a ruthless performance to beat Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-2.

The Belarusian contributed 18 winners and 12 unforced errors to ease past her American opponent, who led the head-to-head 4-1 coming into the match.

Anisimova reached a career-high world ranking of 21 in 2019 but sat at world No. 442 ahead of the match after taking an eight-month hiatus to protect her mental health.

Sabalenka is yet to drop a set in her four matches and has dished out three bagels in the eight sets she has contested.

"I am super happy with the level and to get this win, she is a tough opponent," said Sabalenka.

"I'm getting stronger because I enjoy the atmosphere and I really want to stay here as long as I can till the very last day."

Sabalenka will face either Mirra Andreeva or Barbora Krejcikova next.

Sabalenka storms past Anisimova to reach quarter-finals - Australian Open highlights

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