AMERICAN third seed Coco Gauff weathered a three-set thriller to beat Karolina Muchova 6-1 3-6 6-3 and advance to the Australian Open quarter-finals today, extending her perfect record against the Czech player to five straight wins.
The result bodes well for the American, who has won every tournament in which she has beaten Muchova, including the 2023 U.S. Open.
What started as a demolition job quickly turned into a compelling see-saw battle at Melbourne Park, with Gauff storming to a blistering 5-0 lead in just 20 minutes.
Muchova, who arrived with two top-10 wins under her belt in Brisbane, did not get on the board until the sixth game and by then the opening set had already slipped away as Gauff closed it with clinical efficiency.
The tide turned in the second set, however, with Muchova breaking twice to establish a 4-1 lead as Gauff struggled with her serve and made double faults.
When the chance to serve for the set arrived Muchova did not waste it, serving to love to claim a set over Gauff for the first time in five meetings.
Gauff, who constantly looked to the players’ box in the second set, came out swinging in the decider, forcing more errors from Muchova to go up 4-1.
A thrilling seventh game had both players scrambling in long rallies as the momentum shifted back and forth until Gauff fired a backhand winner and screamed in triumph.
Muchova saved three match points before Gauff sealed progress to the last eight.
Also today, American Learner Tien overcame a nosebleed in the opening set to school Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-0 6-3 at the Australian Open and moved into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his young career.
The 20-year-old’s stunning dismantling of the Russian was a far cry from their epic five-setter that lasted nearly five hours in the second round at Melbourne Park last year, with Tien wrapping up the contest in an hour and 42 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.
Drama struck early when Tien took a medical timeout just 10 minutes into the fourth-round encounter as he stuffed tissues up his nose, but that did little to stop his dominance on court as he left Medvedev looking utterly lost on numerous rallies.
Medvedev had said he did not like playing Tien after a trilogy of matches that went the distance last year and the 20-year-old American proved him right with a clinical performance that included 33 winners.
The victory made Tien the youngest quarter-finalist at the Australian Open since Nick Kyrgios in 2015 and he will next play third seed Alexander Zverev, who crushed Francisco Cerundolo 6-2 6-4 6-4.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew due to an abdominal injury today, a day before they were scheduled to meet at Melbourne Park.
Czech 16th seed Mensik came through a tight clash with American Ethan Quinn 6-2 7-6(5) 7-6(5) on yesterday, but the 20-year-old said he had been carrying the injury that will prevent him from facing his idol Djokovic.
Djokovic, the 10-times Australian Open champion, will continue his quest for a record-extending Melbourne Park title and a 25th Grand Slam crown to surpass the record he currently shares with Margaret Court.
Last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Alexander Zverev, stayed on track in his bid for an elusive maiden Grand Slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.
The 28-year-old German has lost all three Grand Slam title clashes he has contested, including last year’s final to Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, and has flown under the radar this time as he seeks another opportunity.
Reuters