Coco Gauff hasn’t dropped a set en route to her first Australian Open quarterfinal, rolling while many other top seeds were upset in the first week.
The 19-year-old American swept 69th-ranked Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round, her 11th consecutive Grand Slam match win and ninth consecutive match win on tour to start 2024.
She has spent three fewer hours on court through the first four rounds than she did in the first four matches of her run to the U.S. Open title last summer.
The No. 4 seed Gauff hasn’t faced a seed yet in Melbourne and won’t in Tuesday’s quarterfinal. It’ll be 35th-ranked Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men
“U.S. Open I did play higher-ranked people earlier,” said Gauff, who is averaging 1 hour, 12 minutes on court. “That’s also another reason why I had so many long matches.
“I don’t feel uncooked at all. I would love for every match to go pretty easy.”
Gauff has had more free time in Melbourne than in New York City. She’s not playing doubles at a Slam for the first time since 2022 Wimbledon.
She’s filled the space by hitting balls after matches and even doing a mini cardio session after Sunday’s 63-minute match. She has also talked about catching “The Iron Claw.”
“Luckily the movie theater is not too far,” she said. “There’s nothing else to do in my hotel room besides do that.”
Gauff could get defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals. As Gauff finished Frech, Sabalenka began her 6-3, 6-2 sweep of American Amanda Anisimova.
Gauff rallied past Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final to become the first U.S. teen to win a Grand Slam since Serena Williams won her first major title at the 1999 U.S. Open.
Gauff has reached the second week of a Slam in six consecutive years dating to her breakout fourth round run at 2019 Wimbledon at age 15. Williams is the only other American man or woman to have a streak that long in the last 12 years.
“I feel like 16 was like forever ago. ... For me as a teenager, I feel like I’ve been one too long,” Gauff, who turns 20 on March 13, said on ESPN. “You guys mention my age a lot, so eventually it’ll come to the point — I guess when I’m 20 — people won’t talk about it as much.
“When I’m looking at the other girls on tour who are 16, and now coming up, 16, 17, like they just feel so young, and I just feel so old. I know I’m not that old.”
The highest seed left in the top half of the draw is No. 12 Zheng Qinwen of China. No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan were upset in week one.
Also Sunday, Novak Djokovic tied Roger Federer’s record by reaching a 58th Grand Slam quarterfinal, routing 20th-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
Djokovic next gets 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz, who scored his first win over a top-10 player at a Slam by taking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
