The Australian Open is over for American tennis player Coco Gauff after she lost to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the semifinal match on Thursday night. It was Gauff’s first loss of the year. The second-seeded Sabalenka will face China’s Qinwen Zheng, who defeated Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Thursday, in the championship match on Saturday at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. Since Serena Williams accomplished it in 2016 and 2017, Sabalenka is the only female player to advance to consecutive finals at the Australian Open.

The fourth-seeded Gauff survived Sabalenka’s strong strikes by coming up with unexpected counterattacks. She almost won the opening set after seizing the lead for a short while, but lost a close tiebreaker. In the second set, the 25-year-old Sabalenka played patiently against Gauff, making sure to capitalise on each of his errors.

In an interview after the game on the court, Sabalenka remarked, “She’s a tremendous player; it’s always tough battles against her.” “Tonight, I was simply prepared for everything. That, I believe, was the key. The two have previously faced off in high-stakes matches. When the two faced off in the U.S. Open final in September of last year, Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam championship by defeating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Gauff stated that she was happy with her performance in Melbourne, even going so far as to say that it could have been superior to her play in New York, despite the defeat. She played better tonight, but I had chances in both sets,” the 19-year-old Gauff remarked at a news conference. “I thought I used my game plan to its fullest potential. It really just boiled down to a few factors, I believe. Gauff continued, “I think I played a little bit more aggressively this time.

Coco Gauff’s loss to Aryna Sabalenka was disappointing, but it was also a good gauge of where her game stands

Coco Gauff began her news conference at the Australian Open on Thursday with an unexpected statement, following her 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka. You know, I didn’t think the US Open was a great fit for me,” she remarked. Indeed, I prevailed. I believe that tonight I played better.

Gauff was alluding to her historic triumph in the US Open final last year over Sabalenka. Even though she ultimately had a disappointing night in Melbourne after a life-altering victory that night in New York, she didn’t allow disappointment prevent her from seeing the truth about the two matches. This wasn’t a step back in her opinion.

She is correct. Gauff didn’t need to do much to get Sabalenka to blow up at the US Open. The world No. 2 performed to the best of her skills this time. This made the match a more accurate indicator of the American’s current level of play and her position in regard to Sabalenka and the other elite players.

Gauff ought to be pleased that she managed to get this match started at all, given her initial performance level. She trailed 2-5 after giving up seven points in the opening three minutes. However, Sabalenka clearly remembered that Gauff had a history of surprising her and driving her insane with her retrieving abilities. At 2-5, Gauff entered a scramble mode, and Sabalenka began to overhit and overemote. Suddenly, at 6-5, 30-0, and tracking down everything in sight, Gauff was serving for the set.

However, then was the moment when the American was once again put under strain. That’s hardly unexpected because that’s when her serve and forehand, two additional weak strokes, started to falter once more. She anxiously slowed down on a forehand at 30–15 and placed it in the net. Gauff failed to make a first serve in the tiebreaker after Sabalenka broke.

In the second batch, the same trend persisted. Gauff went up 0–30 with Sabalenka serving at 3–4, and the audience erupted in approbation. Sabalenka, however, resisted with defiance and managed to hold. With the score tied at four, Gauff dropped a bad second serve, a netted forehand, and was broken.

I set myself up to serve the entire set after cleaning up the first one, according to Gauff. “I didn’t think I played poorly today. I simply thought that I fell short in a few particular situations. I would have liked to have served more people first. That, I believe, made a difference.

Regarding her second serve, she claims that her injury was more from placement than from speed. She knew where it was going every single time because I was simply hitting it right to her forehand,” Gauff said. “Therefore, I believe I should focus on that later. Overall, Gauff shown throughout her 12-day stay in Melbourne that her game will not be miraculously improved by winning a Grand Slam championship. When things become tight, they get tight, too. Her serve and forehand still come and go, and she doesn’t always swing through them with confidence and ease.

However, this event demonstrated that Gauff’s major championship wasn’t an exception and that, aside from Sabalenka, not many players appear to be able to capitalise on her flaws or bad breaks. Gauff used what she referred to as her “C-game” in her quarterfinal matchup with Marta Kostyuk; her forehand in especially was disorganised. However, she maintained her composure and her poker face, didn’t become down, and won the third set 6-0. She used her intellect, heart, and legs to win a Grand Slam quarterfinal even on a bad day. Knowing that is a positive thing.

Gauff, who at this competition had an opportunity to move up to the No. 2 spot in the world, is aware of her strong position for a 19-year-old. She only has to be reminded to look at things in the big picture from time to time. Regarding her defeat against Sabalenka, she remarked, “I tend to be critical on myself, so I feel like today I was, like, ‘Dang. Gauff will turn 20 in March, so she gained some perspective when someone asked her a few seconds later if she had achieved her adolescent goals.