Coco Gauff is into her first Australian Open quarterfinal after a smooth fourth round win over Magdalena Frech.
“First Aussie quarterfinal, super happy to be in this position and be here,” Gauff said after her win. “It’s cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more.”
The reigning US Open champion needed just 63 minutes to get the win in Rod Laver Arena. And the Australian legend was in attendance himself to watch it.
When asked on the court after the win why she went so quick, Gauff joked that it was because she wanted to go see The Iron Claw in theaters.
“I wanna go to the movies,” she said, laughing.
At 19 years old, she is the youngest woman to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Agnieska Radwanska in 2008.
Hours after Gauff, Linda Noskova – who is also 19 – also made the quarterfinals. The last teenager to make the quarterfinals at the Australian Open was Madison Keys in 2015.
Gauff will next meet Marta Kostyuk, who ousted her round of 16 opponent in just an hour and 16 minutes. If she were to win that match, Gauff could set up a US Open final rematch in the semifinals against reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
There’s no doubt that Gauff is one of the hottest players on tour right now, posting a 32-4 record since the beginning of August – a near 90 percent winning percentage.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was bounced from the Australian Open by Noskova on Saturday, sits just behind Gauff, and is one of just two players to have defeated Gauff in the last six months. Both she and Jessica Pegula, the other player to do it, are now out of this year’s Open.