[ad_1]
cnn
—
Coco Gauff’s Her quest for back-to-back Grand Slam titles came to an end on Thursday when she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the tournament. australian open.
Defending champion Sabalenka triumphed 7-6(7-2) 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena for her 13th consecutive victory at Melbourne Park.
In a close rematch of last year’s US Open final, during which the 19-year-old Gauff won her first major title, the world No. 2 took control of the contest with a break at 4-4 in the second set. before taking out. for the game.
Sabalenka will now face Zheng Qinwen in Saturday’s final after the Chinese No. 12, who has never appeared in a Grand Slam final before, defeated Ukraine. Dayana Yastremska 6-4 6-4.
For American Gauff, this was her first loss in 2024, as she had a 10-0 record entering the match.
“It was an incredible match,” Sabalenka told reporters. “She is a great player, there are always difficult battles against her.
“I think the key was that I was able to stay focused no matter what, no matter what the score was, I keep doing my best, I keep fighting for it.
“Of course, I am super happy to be in another Grand Slam final. Hopefully I can do a little better than last time.”
In a close first set between the two highest-ranked players remaining in the draw, Sabalenka appeared to have the advantage on several occasions, only for Gauff to stay in contention under pressure from the Belarusian’s powerful groundstrokes.
Sabalenka was unable to serve in the first set at 5-3 as she committed two unforced errors and a double fault, but Gauff was also unable to capitalize on her advantage as she served for the set at 6-5.
In the resulting tie-break, Sabalenka began to find her range with a series of huge forehands and took the first set when Gauff’s return went wide.
Another very balanced second set followed, although this time neither player could find the important break.
That was only until Sabalenka, on her fifth break point of the set, finally found the breakthrough when Gauff’s backhand went wide, and from there, she secured the victory in one hour and 42 minutes.
According to ESPN, this was the 25-year-old’s first win against a top-four ranked player at a Major.
She finished the match with 33 winners and 76% first serve accuracy, becoming the first woman to reach consecutive Australian Open finals since Serena Williams in 2017.
Gauff, who was playing in her first semi-final in Melbourne, said her tournament was “positive” overall.
“I had opportunities in both sets, but she played better tonight. I felt like I did the best I could with the game plan she had. I think it came down to a couple of points, and that’s tennis,” she said after the match.
[ad_2]
Source link