Coco Gauff has prolonged her unblemished begin to the season with a straight-sets win over Leylah Fernandez on Friday to roll into the second week of the Australian Open.
The American world quantity three, one of many favourites for the Melbourne title, eased to a 6-4, 6-2 third-round win on Rod Laver Enviornment towards the thirtieth seed from Canada.
Gauff is but to drop a set this season in eight matches having gained all 5 of her singles on the season-opening United Cup, together with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Fernandez which was the pair’s solely earlier conflict.
“I believe it was more durable as a result of she knew what to anticipate, and I undoubtedly assume she performed a little bit bit completely different in the present day than on the United Cup,” mentioned Gauff, who’s on an total 12-match successful streak.
“Leylah is a superb competitor, nice participant, nice individual so I knew in the present day was going to be a tricky match whatever the outcome a few weeks in the past.”
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, misplaced to Aryna Sabalenka within the Australian Open semifinal final 12 months, her finest Melbourne Park efficiency thus far.
She is drawn to satisfy the world primary and double defending champion on the identical stage this 12 months.
Earlier than that the 20-year-old will face Belinda Bencic, who superior when Naomi Osaka retired injured, for a spot within the quarterfinals.
World quantity 29 Fernandez, the dropping finalist within the 2021 US Open, was within the third spherical in Melbourne for the primary time and located the precision of Gauff arduous to deal with.
The American stepped on the gasoline halfway by way of the primary set, breaking Fernandez to like.
A double break at the beginning of the second put Gauff in management, however serving at 3-0 she coughed up a pair of double faults to permit Fernandez a break again and a lifeline.
If Fernandez sensed a door opening, then Gauff instantly slammed it shut, breaking once more for 4-1.
Serving for the match at 5-2, Gauff unleashed two searing backhand winners – one down the road and one throughout court docket – and sealed victory with an unreturnable lob in 1hr 16min
Bencic in Gauff’s sights after Osaka retires
Gauff will now face the Swiss Bencic, who superior to the final 16 after two-time champion Naomi Osaka retired throughout Friday’s third-round match.
Bencic took the primary set in a tiebreak 7-6(3) earlier than Japan’s Osaka, who had additionally pulled out of the Auckland closing earlier this month because of the identical stomach harm, withdrew from the competition.
Osaka had mentioned the outcome from an MRI scan earlier than the event “wasn’t implausible” however got here by way of two rounds, beating Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova in three-set matches.
However the conflict towards Bencic, ranked 294 on this planet at the beginning of the Open, proved to be a step too far for the 27-year-old who mentioned her withdrawal appeared ‘inevitable’ after the pressure she placed on her stomach within the earlier rounds.
“It’s not implausible and I’m feeling not nice, not dangerous. Within the center someplace,” Osaka instructed reporters.
“It was a little bit hectic attempting to handle it (throughout the event) as a result of clearly my draw was fairly powerful. However we have been additionally doing the whole lot we may. I used to be going to remedy on daily basis and into the evening. So the times have been very lengthy for me. Clearly after my final match it acquired manner worse.”
Bencic broke early to go 1-0 up however Osaka confirmed promise and rapidly discovered her vary to maintain the Swiss at bay with an efficient first serve and deep groundstrokes whereas she additionally held her nerve on an important maintain to guide 5-2.
However Osaka, who gained the title at Melbourne Park in 2019 and 2021, was visibly struggling and she or he misplaced her composure when she did not serve out the set as Bencic grew in confidence with two searing returns.
Osaka then referred to as for a physiotherapist throughout a changeover and though she initially soldiered on after remedy, she couldn’t proceed after the tiebreak.
“I actually really feel for Naomi, I noticed her struggling a little bit bit on the finish of the set and clearly it’s not the way in which you prefer to this match to finish,” Bencic mentioned.
“I assumed it was an excellent match, so hopefully she’ll be nice quickly and she will be able to play nicely for the remainder of the season.”
