Paula Badosa's resurgence continued at the Australian Open with a fourth-round victory as the 2024 WTA Comeback Player of the Year secured passage to set up a quarter-final clash with in-form Coco Gauff on Tuesday.
The American No. 1 player might have dropped a set for the first time this season against Belinda Bencic but showed improved aggression and battling qualities to claim a comeback victory in Melbourne.
Match preview
© Imago
Gauff went into Sunday's Aussie Open meeting with returning mum Bencic as the favourite, having entered the round-four match on an eight-match winning streak this year without dropping a set.
Losing the opener could have led to slumped shoulders, but the 20-year-old responded with intensity to outlast her Swiss opponent 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 26 minutes.
That was the longest the 2024 semi-finalist has spent on the court at this year's tournament as she improved to 16-5 Down Under, and she could secure her 17th Aussie Open success by defeating Badosa, equalling her tally of victories at the US Open.
Fresh off her first three-setter this season, the third seed heads into her seventh meeting with Badosa with her sights set on a possible rematch of last year's semi-final against top seed Aryna Sabalenka if she wins and the Belarusian gets the better of 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tuesday's other quarter-final.
Gauff is not letting up after closing out the previous season with a stunning success at the WTA Finals, underscoring the fine form of a player whose last loss was a dead rubber at the year-end event to Barbora Krejcikova.
© Imago
Standing in the third seed's way to consecutive last-four appearances at Melbourne Park is Badosa, whose comeback story has warmed hearts.
After battling a lengthy back injury that made her consider retiring from the sport, the Spanish player, who slipped to No. 140 in the world in May 2024, has risen to No. 12 in those rankings, two places outside the top 10.
The former world No. 2's 5-2 win-loss record this season does not quite match her quarter-final opponent, but the 27-year-old's revival makes the 12th seed a dangerous opponent to Gauff's prospects of a Sabalenka rematch.
Despite naming the Aussie Open as her favourite Major, Badosa's 55% win rate Down Under before this year's tournament conflicted with her claims, though four triumphs have improved her win percentage to 67%, joint-second with Wimbledon for the Spaniard at Slams.
Having never made a semi-final at a Grand Slam, the three-time quarter-finalist aims to beat her in-form opponent in their seventh match-up, keen to break new ground after emulating countrywoman Arantxa Sanchez Vicario's 1997-1998 feat of reaching the quarters at the US Open and the Aussie Open the following season.
Tournament so far
Coco Gauff:
First round: vs. Sofia Kenin 6-3 6-3
Second round: vs. Jodie Burrage 6-3 7-5
Third round: vs. Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1
Paula Badosa:
First round: vs. Wang Xiyu 6-3 7-6[5]
Second round: vs. Talia Gibson 6-1 6-0
Third round: vs. Marta Kostyuk 6-4 4-6 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Olga Danilovic 6-1 7-6[2]
Head To Head
Beijing (2024) - Semi-final: Gauff 4-6 6-4 6-2
Rome (2024) - Round of 16: Gauff 5-7 6-4 6-1
Madrid (2023) - Round of 32: Badosa 6-3 6-0
San Jose (2022) - Quarter-final: Badosa 7-6(4) 6-2
Doha (2022) - Round of 16: Gauff 6-2 6-3
Indian Wells (2021) - Round of 32: Badosa 6-2 6-2
Although both women enter Tuesday's quarter-final 3-3 in their head-to-head, Gauff has claimed consecutive wins over Badosa, having previously lost three of their opening four match-ups.
Also tied on hard-court victories with two wins apiece, neither has dominated the other on the surface heading into their fifth match-up on the surface and seventh overall.
Badosa is 3-7 in her previous match-ups against top-10 players, though she took Iga Swiatek to three sets at last year's Billie Jean King Cup at the backend of last season; however, she is 0-3 in Slams against elite opponents – losing to Sabalenka at Roland Garros in 2024, Petra Kvitova at the Aussie Open five years back and Kiki Bertens at the 2019 US Open.
We say: Gauff to win in three sets
It is hard to bet against Gauff securing her third win on the trot against Badosa, owing to the American's superior form and momentum.
The third seed should extend the Spanish player's top-10 hoodoo at the Majors to four defeats on the trot to secure consecutive semi-final berths in Melbourne.
