An “emotional” Paula Badosa has shattered world number three Coco Gauff’s dream of a first Australian Open title with a stunning 7-5, 6-4 win in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
Badosa reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in her career – the first Spanish woman to do so since Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne in 2020 – in a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes on Tuesday.
“I’m a bit emotional,” said Badosa, who will face either her close friend and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the final.
“I’m a very emotional person. I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it.
“I’m super proud of the level I gave today.”
It caps a remarkable comeback to tennis for the 11th seed who was ranked outside the top 100 a year ago after a stress fracture in her back.
“I mean, a year ago, I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I’m here playing against the best in the world,” said Badosa.
Third seed Gauff had been unbeaten in nine matches this season but dropped her first set of 2025 before recovering to beat Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic in the last 16.
Badosa began aggressively and had the Gauff serve under pressure early in the first set.
The American, uncharacteristically, failed to create any break points in the first set and littered her game with unforced errors.
Gauff was far from her aggressive best but said she felt more positive than she did after her fourth-round loss to compatriot Emma Navarro in the US Open.
“Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m on an upward trajectory,” Gauff told reporters after the match.
“I know what I need to work on.
“I’m obviously disappointed, but I’m not completely crushed.”
Meanwhile, men’s second seed Alexander Zverev overcame Tommy Paul to register a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-1 win and book his spot in the last four.
Zverev, who received a warning for cursing during his quarterfinal after he got bothered by a bird’s feather, is among the favourites for the title.
The German was down a break in the second set when Paul saved two break points. With the game in the balance, chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called a let and ordered a replay of a point when he saw a white feather drop into Zverev’s eye line as the German player was in his backswing.
“What? A feather? There’s millions of them on the court,” Zverev said as he approached the official while holding up the feather.
Zverev grasped the net to pause for a while before going back to work, but Paul soon held serve.
The world number two will face the winner of the mouthwatering quarterfinal between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
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