MELBOURNE. — Spain’s Paula Badosa stunned error-prone third seed Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time at the third attempt.
It was a thoroughly deserved victory for Badosa on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena as she set up a meeting with double defending champion ArynaSabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The 11th seed’s two previous Grand Slam quarterfinals had resulted in disappointing defeats and she sank to her knees in disbelief after sealing the victory with her 15th winner. “I’m a bit emotional, as you know, I’m a very emotional person,” said the 27-year-old after securing her first win over a top 10 seed at a major.
“The last Slams, the quarter-finals were very tough, so today I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it. . . I’m super proud of the level I gave today.
“This is a dream come true.”
Gauff’s bid to reach her fifth Grand Slam semifinal, and second in a row at Melbourne Park, foundered on her fragile serve and no fewer than 28 unforced errors on her forehand.
“Paula was playing great,” Gauff said after her first loss in 10 matches in 2025.
“I think it’s just a lot more work to do, but I’m obviously disappointed, but I’m not completely crushed. I’m looking forward to a lot.”
Badosa showed her intentions early on in a tight first set by attacking the 20-year-old’s forehand to grab a couple of break points in the third game.
Gauff saved both but Badosa came back at her in the 11th game, earning a third break point with a backhand volley and converting it with a huge cross-court winner off the forehand.
And we will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.
The American fought hard to get back on serve but two wild shots helped Badosa to a set point and she converted it when the third seed went long with a forehand.
Badosa kept up the pressure in the 14-minute opening game of the second set as Gauff’s serve started to creak and the 27-year-old converted her fifth break point to edge ahead.
