Coco Gauff survived an early scare to move into the last 16 of the Australian Open after coming through a three-set battle against compatriot Hailey Baptiste.
The two-time Grand Slam champion found herself trailing early on before fighting back to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, on the Margaret Court Arena. Gauff dropped her serve twice and hit 11 unforced errors during the opening set alone before managing to regain some rhythm on the court. The blip was the American’s first real test in this year’s tournament after coming through her two previous matches with relative ease despite some minor service issues.
Gauff believes her start to her latest match was more due to the level of tennis coming from across the court. Baptiste, who has been ranked as high as 47th in the world, was playing in the last 32 at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“Honestly, I didn’t change too much,” Gauff said of her comeback win.
“I think I tried to get more first serves in but she played so well in the first set. Maybe a couple points go my way could be a different outcome, but I wasn’t too upset.
“I just said if she plays like this the whole match and I can’t raise my level, then great job to her.
“But I was able to raise my level and yeah, I’m happy with how I immensely stayed calm through that.”
During the early stages of the third set, a member of the crowd shouted, “I believe in you Hailey”, which drew a laugh from the crowd when Baptiste was preparing to serve. Then another comment was made by the crowd, which wasn’t picked up by the broadcaster. However, it prompted jeers from those in the stadium, which Gauff criticised when speaking on court following the match.
“Haley’s a great competitor. So to the guy who made that comment, we’re all doing our best out here and a lot of people believe in her.” She said.
“I understand you’re trying to root for me, but let’s be respectful. We’re all trying our best.”
Still only 21, Gauff is the youngest American woman to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open four years in a row since Lindsay Davenport reached five in a row between 1994 and 1998. She is making her seventh main draw appearance at the tournament this year.
In the next round, Gauf faces former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, whom she has beaten three times before in straight sets. 19th seed Muchova stormed into the last 16 with an emphatic 6-1, 6-1, win over Magda Linette. The Czech reached the semi-finals in Melbourne five years ago.
“I think I’ll need to try to take what I did today and try to make some more adjustments to do better,” Gauff said ahead of her next match.
“But she’s (Muchova) a tough opponent. I always say she’s one of the best players on Tour and deserves way more wins than she has. It’s going to be a tough one.”
