Paula Badosa ‘loves’ Coco Gauff but is gunning for ‘revenge’ in Australian Open quarter-finals
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Spain's Paula Badosa hitting a return during her 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) Australian Open fourth-round win over Serbia’s Olga Danilovic in Melbourne on Jan 19.
PHOTO: AFP
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MELBOURNE – Paula Badosa declared on Jan 19 that she “loves” Coco Gauff, but that will not prevent her from looking for “revenge” when they face off in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Badosa, the 11th seed from Spain, swept aside Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) to book a last-eight clash with the world No. 3.
“I love Coco. I respect her a lot,” Badosa told reporters of the 20-year-old.
“She’s a great competitor. We always have tough matches.”
The pair have a 3-3 head-to-head record but Gauff won both their meetings in 2024, with each going to three sets.
The last time was in the semi-finals of the WTA China Open in Beijing, where Gauff won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on her way to lifting the title.
“Last one was really tough for me because I was winning in that moment, then the momentum changed,” said Badosa, 27, who is prepared to go the distance again after making the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“I hope I can have my revenge here. It’s a special match, quarter-finals, centre court, against her.
“I always enjoyed playing against her. I respect her so much. I will get ready for that battle again.
“She didn’t lose a match this year, if I’m not wrong. She’s full of confidence. But I’m playing well too. I’m ready to face her.”
The last time a Spanish woman reached the last eight at the Australian Open was in 2020, when Garbine Muguruza achieved the feat.
Badosa can reach a maiden Grand Slam semi-final if she beats Gauff on Jan 21, having also reached the last eight at Roland Garros in 2021 and the US Open in 2024.
Gauff said she felt “invincible” after the recent United Cup and is unfazed about dropping her first set in nine matches this season.
The American beat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 on a red-hot Rod Laver Arena on Jan 19.
“Two out of three sets at this stage of my career is not that physically hard for me,” said the 2023 US Open champion, who is chasing a first Melbourne title.
“The off-season, I just put in so much work physically, so I’m not worried at all about recovering emotionally or mentally.”
Gauff, who ended 2024 by winning the WTA Finals title, won all five of her singles in Perth and Sydney to lead the Americans to a United Cup team triumph.
“The United Cup was a little bit more exhausting because of the fact that I finished at 1am one night, then had to fly across the country and play,” she said.
“That was more of the mental, emotional test. Honestly, I feel like after playing that whole United Cup, I felt pretty invincible.” AFP
