Elina Svitolina stuns Coco Gauff to power into Australian Open semi-finals

MELBOURNE – Elina Svitolina stunned American third seed Coco Gauff to sail into an Australian Open semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday, and inch closer to a maiden Grand Slam title.

The Ukrainian 12th seed kept her dreams alive with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition in 59 minutes under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, with Gauff’s serve imploding.

Svitolina’s reward is a clash with imperious world No. 1 Sabalenka, after the Belarusian overpowered American teenager Iva Jovic for the loss of just three games.

A decade older than Gauff at 31, former world No. 3 Svitolina was playing her 14th Grand Slam quarter-final.

She had managed to press on to the semis only three times before, and never in Australia.

“Very, very pleased with the tournament so far,” said Svitolina, who is on a 10-match win streak after a title-winning run at Auckland this month.

Making the semi-finals will propel her back into the top 10.

“It’s always been my dream to come back after maternity leave to make the top 10. Always been my goal,” she added.

“It means the world to me. And of course I try to push myself, I try to give myself this motivation to continue. Very pleased with the performance at this tournament in Australia.”

Two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff’s serve deserted her, broken four times in the first set and twice in the second to leave her title aspirations in tatters.

She won just 41 per cent of her first service points, while throwing in 19 unforced errors.

Gauff suffered from serving issues all tournament and was broken immediately.

Svitolina, with husband Gael Monfils watching on, failed to capitalise and conceded her serve as well, but Gauff then sent down two double faults at crucial moments to be broken yet again.

Clearly flustered, she was broken for third time, to love, as the Ukrainian raced to 5-1 with a fifth double fault of the match gifting Svitolina another break and the set in 29 minutes.

Gauff summoned a ball kid and asked for three racquets to be restrung, and left the court for a toilet break after the first set annihilation. But it didn’t help, broken for a fifth straight time to open set two.

She finally managed to hold on her sixth attempt, but there was no way back.

It is the first time Svitolina has reached the last four in Melbourne after quarter-final runs in 2018, 2019 and 2025. She has made the semi-finals at Slams three times previously, most recently at Wimbledon in 2023.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, said her mentality in Melbourne was “trophy or nothing” after muscling past Jovic into the last four to put a third title within sight.

The relentless top seed powered home 6-3, 6-0 in blazing heat, booking a 14th Grand Slam semi-final and fourth in a row at the season-opening major.

Sabalenka has won twice in Melbourne, in 2023 and 2024, and seemed destined for another crown last year but was upset in the final by Madison Keys.

That defeat left her shattered and the 27-year-old Belarusian is desperate to go all the way this time.

“I think every player when they get to the tournament is trophy or nothing,” she said.

“The mentality is the same, and it’s always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it.

“But I’m trying to shift my focus on the right things and taking it step by step and just trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set.”

Defeat brought an end to a breakthrough tournament for 18-year-old Jovic, the youngest player in the women’s top 100 and seeded 29.

She stunned seventh seed and two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini and blitzed past experienced Yulia Putintseva for the loss of just one game to announce herself to the world.

But Sabalenka was a bridge too far.

“It was a tough match. Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all,” insisted the Belarusian.

“She played incredible tennis. Pushed me to one step better level. And I’m super happy with the win.” AFP, REUTERS