Paula Badosa, who nearly stop tennis in 2024, has reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with a straight-sets win over Gauff.
An “emotional” Paula Badosa has shattered world quantity three Coco Gauff’s dream of a primary Australian Open title with a surprising 7-5, 6-4 win within the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
Badosa reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the primary time in her profession – the primary Spanish girl to take action since Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne in 2020 – in a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes on Tuesday.
“I’m a bit emotional,” mentioned Badosa, who will face both her shut buddy and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a spot within the closing.
“I’m a really emotional particular person. I needed to play my finest recreation. I believe I did it.
“I’m tremendous pleased with the extent I gave at present.”
It caps a exceptional comeback to tennis for the eleventh seed who was ranked outdoors the highest 100 a 12 months in the past after a stress fracture in her again.
“I imply, a 12 months in the past, I used to be right here with my again that I didn’t know if I needed to retire from this sport, and now I’m right here taking part in in opposition to one of the best on the earth,” mentioned Badosa.
Third seed Gauff had been unbeaten in 9 matches this season however dropped her first set of 2025 earlier than recovering to beat Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic within the final 16.
Badosa started aggressively and had the Gauff serve below stress early within the first set.
The American, uncharacteristically, didn’t create any break factors within the first set and littered her recreation with unforced errors.
Gauff was removed from her aggressive finest however mentioned she felt extra constructive than she did after her fourth-round loss to compatriot Emma Navarro within the US Open.
“Despite the fact that I misplaced at present, I really feel like I’m on an upward trajectory,” Gauff advised reporters after the match.
“I do know what I must work on.
“I’m clearly disillusioned, however I’m not fully crushed.”
In the meantime, males’s second seed Alexander Zverev overcame Tommy Paul to register a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-1 win and e book his spot within the final 4.
Zverev, who acquired a warning for cursing throughout his quarterfinal after he acquired bothered by a fowl’s feather, is among the many favourites for the title.
The German was down a break within the second set when Paul saved two break factors. With the sport within the stability, chair umpire Nacho Forcadell known as a let and ordered a replay of some extent when he noticed a white feather drop into Zverev’s eye line because the German participant was in his backswing.
“What? A feather? There’s hundreds of thousands of them on the court docket,” Zverev mentioned as he approached the official whereas holding up the feather.
Zverev grasped the web to pause for some time earlier than going again to work, however Paul quickly held serve.
The world quantity two will face the winner of the mouthwatering quarterfinal between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
