Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka move
closer to another Australian Open showdown
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 [January 17, 2025]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coco Gauff still hasn't lost a match or
even at set at the Australian Open — or, actually, this season. She
moved into the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a straightforward
6-4, 6-2 victory over 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez on
Friday night.
While there have been plenty of surprises in the men's bracket so
far, most of the top women, other than No. 5 Zheng Qinwen, have
progressed through the draw without an issue. That includes wins on
Friday for No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is the two-time defending
champion in Australia, No. 3 Gauff, No. 11 Paula Badosa and No. 14
Mirra Andreeva.
Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion in Australia, stopped playing
because of a strained abdominal muscle after dropping the first set
of her match against Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
No. 7 Jessica Pegula was scheduled to play later Friday against Olga
Danilovic.
Men's winners in third-round action included No. 2 Alexander Zverev,
No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 12 Tommy Paul, while Novak Djokovic —
who won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open — was
in action at night against No. 26 Tomas Machac.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came back from two sets down for the
second match in a row, saving two match points to sneak past
19-year-old Jakub Mensik 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2.
Alcaraz's next opponent will be No. 15 Jack Draper or Aleksandar
Vukic.
A year ago, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff had her best run in
Melbourne, getting to the semifinals before bowing out against
Sabalenka, who extended her winning streak at the tournament to 17
matches by eliminating Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Friday.
Like Gauff, Sabalenka is unbeaten in the early going in 2025. They
could meet in the semifinals again this time around next weekend.
Gauff needed just 75 minutes to get past Fernandez, a left-hander
who was seeded 30th. Gauff was broken just once and compiled an 18-7
advantage in total winners.
It was Gauff's second recent win over Fernandez, after beating her
in the United Cup team competition. That is part of Gauff's 8-0
record, 16-0 in sets, so far this season.
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Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Leylah Fernandez
of Canada during their third round match at the Australian Open
tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.
(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
That made this one “harder,” Gauff said, “because she knows what to
expect, and I definitely think she played a little bit different
today.”
That prompted Gauff to switch some things up, too, as she seeks her
second major championship. She's tweaked her coaching staff and
altered her serving and forehand mechanics a bit after being a tad
disappointed with her Grand Slam performances in 2024 — even if the
season did end with a title at the WTA Finals.
“Tennis feels so high stakes, but it's really not. I'm so lucky to
do what I do — also get paid doing it,” said Gauff, a 20-year-old
from Florida.
“My biggest thing I learned last year is just not to take anything
for granted," Gauff said, "and just realized this time is going to
go by so fast. ... I'm just trying to enjoy it while I’m here.”
Neither Sabalenka nor Tauson served all that well in Rod Laver
Arena. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was
slower court conditions.
The first seven games of the match were all breaks, and Tauson was
the first to hold, leading 5-3. But that's when Sabalenka began to
get going.
“I am super happy I was able to push myself," Sabalenka said. "I
told myself, ‘Well, girl, you are tough.’ So many times, I thought I
was done.”
Next for her is a matchup with 17-year-old Andreeva, a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
winner against No. 23 Magdalena Frech. Badosa barely emerged to beat
No. 17 Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and 2021 French Open runner-up
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 27th seed, defeated Laura Siegemund
6-1, 6-2. Siegemund took a big step back after being the one to beat
Zheng, who was the runner-up to Sabalenka in Australia last January
and won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August.
Alcaraz ceded a set for the first time this week but beat Nuno
Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, Zverev defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-3,
6-4, 6-4, and Paul got past Robert Carballes Baena 7-6 (0), 6-2,
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