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.

Mirra Andreeva continues to post seemingly improbable performances, coming back from being down 5-1 in the final set against Diane Parry to win the match.

It was the second time the two have met, with the 16-year-old Andreeva also winning the first match. On Thursday, it seemed as though Parry was going to pull even in their head-to-head, having won the first set 6-1 and leading in the third 5-1.

But Andreeva saved match point at 5-2 before rattling off five games in a row. Eventually, she won the 10-point tiebreak.

“I would prefer to win in straight sets. I think everybody would,” Andreeva said afterwards. “But it’s also good to win when you’re fighting for every point. I think I will have a lot of matches like this in my career. I’m just happy with the win. I don’t care how I win exactly with the score and the time, I just want to win.

“If it takes three sets, then I’m happy to win with three sets. If it takes two sets, then of course I’m happy to win with two sets.”

Andreeva gave credit to her competitor, who she says played “really well” in the first set.

“It was really tough for me to do something,” Andreeva said afterwards. “Then I just found my way. Honestly, overall it was a crazy match for me. In the third set I didn’t really expect to come back, but I did it, so I’m very happy.”

Mirra Andreeva is making her Australian Open debut in style, beating 6-seed Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

The 16-year-old’s first career top-10 victory came in decisive fashion, as Andreeva won 6-0, 6-2 in just 54 minutes. Afterwards, the 47th-ranked Russian player had nothing but great things to say about her opponent, who she considers one of her idols.

“It was one of my dreams to play against her because I really like the way she plays,” she told reporters afterwards. “As I said before, I’m inspired by her, so it means a lot. Today, it meant a lot, this match that I won.

“Now, after the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never changes. That’s what I like about her.”

Andreeva dominated from the beginning to the end, facing just one break point throughout the match. She hit 13 winners and only 10 unforced errors. Jabeur, in contrast, hit just nine winners to 24 unforced errors.

According to the WTA, Andreeva is just the second-youngest player in the Open era to concede three games or fewer against a top-10 seed at a grand slam. Jelena Dokic is the youngest, having beaten Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999.

The teenager called it “probably the best match” of her career thus far.

“The first set, I didn’t expect that I would play this good. Second set was also not bad,” she said. “For me, it was an amazing match. I’m super happy with the level that I showed today on the court.”

She’s the first player aged 17 or younger to defeat a top-10 player at the Australian Open since Coco Gauff beat then-defending champion Naomi Osaka in the 2019 tournament’s third round. Gauff won her second round match in straight sets on Tuesday, extending her winning streak at Grand Slams to nine matches.

Naomi Osaka took to the practice court Wednesday ahead of her return to tennis at the Brisbane International.

The former world No. 1 is set to make her WTA comeback at the tournament, which begins Sunday. She spent the last year out on maternity leave, and she gave birth to her daughter Shai in July.

A two-time Australian Open and US Open champion, Osaka pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne before revealing her pregnancy. Osaka last competed at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022.

“She’s really pumped, excited to be back in Brisbane,” tournament director Cameron Pearson said Wednesday. “She arrived Christmas morning and was out practicing a few hours later. No Christmas pudding for her, she was straight into it.”

The 26-year-old also spoke Friday about how motherhood has given her a new outlook on the game.

“Being a mum has changed my life a lot. I think it changed my perspective on a lot of things,” Osaka said. “Giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through. It’s definitely made me feel like physically I can handle a lot.

“I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons why I want to be back out here.”

But she also has realistic expectations about the Australian Open after having not competed in over a year.

“I’ve given myself the biggest chance to do well, but at the same time, I haven’t had any match play,” Osaka said. “I’m just embracing the fact that it’s my first tournament in a very long time. I’m just trying to have fun and do well at the same time.”

Osaka received a wild-card entry to the tournament. The field also includes reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, US Open champion Coco Gauff, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Sloane Stephens in the 54-player women’s draw.

Aryna Sabalenka won her first major on Saturday, taking home the Australian Open singles title.

While she had won doubles twice, she had never reached a final in a singles tournament, let alone won.

After going down 4-6 in the first set to Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka rebounded in the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 to take the comeback victory. With the win, she’ll rise to No. 2 in the world rankings on Monday.

“The last game, yeah, of course, I was a little bit nervous. I (kept) telling myself, like, ’Nobody tells you that it’s going to be easy.′ You just have to work for it, work for it, ’til the last point,” said Sabalenka. “I’m super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions and win this one.”

She was presented the trophy by Billie Jean King, who called the match “thrilling.”

“Both Sabalenka and Rybakina played so well,” she wrote in a social media post. “Honored to present Aryna with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.”

Earlier this week, King spoke out in support of Belrusian and Russian players, who have been banned from using their country’s name or flag by the WTA.

“Just keep it the same way as the other ones are. Life is too short,” she said when asked about the bans. “I think they should get prize money. Just have them play and get their money. It’s the ranking points, for sure. They have to have it.

“Rybakina, they’ve seeded her 25th, but because she won Wimbledon, she’s not [seeded higher]. We are a platform to have discussions on this, though, just like you’re asking. I think it’s important. The WTA was started for that, so we’d all have one voice, too, to help protect players.”

While Sabalenka spoke plenty with reporters after the match, her first words as a Grand Slam champion were directed at King, with Sabalenka thanking the tennis legend.

“It’s such an inspiration to receive the trophy from you,” she said. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for our sport. I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Jessica Pegula exited the Australian Open in the quarterfinals, losing in straight sets to Victoria Azarenka, 6-4, 6-1.

Still, she has no time “to sulk around.” Instead, the 28-year-old American will set her sights on the doubles bracket, as she plays in a quarterfinal match with Coco Gauff at 10:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

“I think it actually helps that I’m playing doubles tomorrow because I don’t have so much time to sulk around and kind of be in my feelings,” Pegula told reporters after her loss.

“I saw I’ll play third match tomorrow, so I’ve got to go get racquets strung, book practice courts, figure out what time I’m going warm up. I’ll be back here probably by noon. A quick turnaround.”

Still, after her run in doubles is done, Pegula will take the time to look back on her singles run at this year’s Australian Open. She made the quarterfinal round for the third straight year — but also failed to advance to the semifinals for the third straight year.

“Obviously I’m going to be pretty pissed about my match tonight,” Pegula said. “But tomorrow is just another chance to get another win, to get a better feeling, to go back and be in a competitive mindset, hopefully do well in the doubles. I still want to win.”

For Azarenka, the win marks her first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal since the 2020 US Open, and her first Australian Open semifinal since winning it all back in 2013.

For the third straight year, Jessica Pegula is into the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The 28-year-old American won in straight sets Sunday over Barbora Krejčíková. The No. 3 seed next will face off against Victoria Azarenka at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday in hopes of making her first semifinal at the Melbourne major.

All eyes will be on Pegula, as she is the lone American woman – and the highest seed – left in the women’s singles draw.

So what is Pegula’s path to the title? Just Women’s Sports breaks it down.

Quarterfinal: Victoria Azarenka

A former world No. 1, Azarenka has made the final at the Australian Open twice before in 2008 and 2011, but the 33-year-old has not made a major final since 2019. This year’s quarterfinal appearance marks her best run at the Australian Open since 2016 and her first appearance past the fourth round in a major since the 2020 US Open.

Azarenka and Pegula have faced off five times prior to this. Their most recent meeting came at the 2022 Guadalajara Open, which Pegula won in straight sets. She went on to win the title at the October tournament.

Semifinal: Winner of Elena Rybakina vs. Jelena Ostapenko

The good news is that Pegula won’t have to go up against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal after Swiatek lost her round of 16 matchup. Instead, she’ll face off against either Rybakina or Ostapenko.

Rybakina won Wimbledon last year and is fresh off taking out Swiatek in a dominant, straight-set win. But Pegula has beaten Rybakina in both of their previous matchups, including a win at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.

Ostapenko, meanwhile, is a former French Open champion who is on a career-best run at the Australian Open. She ousted No. 7 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round but has lost twice to Pegula in her career. She won their most recent meeting, though, at the Qatar Open in 2021.

Final: No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka

The highest seed left in the draw besides Pegula is No. 5 Sabalenka, who took out Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. The 24-year-old Belarusian has beaten Pegula four times, most recently at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth in November.

Other possible opponents for Pegula in the championship match include Madga Linette, who took out No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia, as well as Donna Vekic and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.

Two of the biggest names at the Australian Open are out after Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek each lost in straight sets in the round of 16.

The usually dominant Swiatek was upended by Wimbledon champion and No. 22 seed Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-4. Prior to that match, Rybakina had never beaten a current world No. 1.

“I kind of knew what to expect on these big courts, and I just tried to do my best and tried to focus on my serve,” Rybakina said. “A few games were not really successful on my serve, but in the end I think I did a good job.

“It’s a big win and I’m just happy to get to another round.”

She went up 2-0 in the first set before Swiatek pulled back level, but the world No. 1 never seemed to take control of the match.

“I knew that I had to be aggressive from the first ball because she’s a great mover, and she defends really well,” Rybakina said. “So I was trying to just attack her from the first ball, and it really worked well.”

At the same time, 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko was brewing an upset of her own, taking out Gauff 7-5, 6-3. She clocked 30 winners, and the win marked her first over a top 10 player at a Grand Slam in three years.

It’s also her first quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam since 2018 and continues a career-best run at the Australian Open.

“My life changed a lot [after winning Roland Garros], so I needed a few years to really get used to what happened because I was really young,” Ostapenko said. “I was 19 and then turned 20.

“I always knew and believed in my game. If I play well, I can beat almost anyone. I was trying to work more on my consistency, especially in the preseason. Yeah, just to step on the court and play my game.

“I think I’m doing it quite well this week.”

Coco Gauff advanced to the third round at the Australian Open after besting Emma Raducanu, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), in a blockbuster matchup.

The victory was the 100th WTA win of Gauff’s career. The 18-year-old American is the youngest woman to reach that milestone since 2009, when an 18-year-old Carolina Wozniacki did so.

Gauff took a 4-2 lead in the second set before Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, battled back to grab a 5-4 advantage. But Gauff, who made her first Grand Slam final at the French Open last year, held firm.

“I stayed calm when I needed to and made the serve when I needed to. Held when I needed to. I think that definitely comes with maturity,” Gauff said. “I feel like in the past, I would have freaked out in that moment.

“I just told myself to hang in there. Emma was playing really good tennis towards the end of the match.”

Gauff reached No. 7 spot in the world rankings to end 2022, a career high. Raducanu had jumped to a career-high No. 10 last summer, but after struggling with injury she has dropped to No. 77.

“Honestly, the whole match was great,” Gauff said. “In the beginning I think we both started off rocky, but I think the match was good quality for the most part. Considering the circumstances—I imagine both of us were nervous, as this was a long-anticipated match-up basically since the draw came out. So I’m glad that it was a good match for you guys.”

For the two teenagers, the match came with the weight of expectations. With the retirement of some of the world’s best in 2022, including Serena Williams and Ash Barty, the next generation of tennis is beginning to take hold.

“Fans are eager to see a new face of the game,” Gauff said. “I feel like we handled the pressure pretty well, and kudos to Emma—I know she had a tough week in Auckland, so really good for her to be able to play this level after such a scary moment.”

Raducanu’s status for the Australian Open had been in doubt. The 20-year-old British star had retired from a second-round match in Auckland two weeks ago with an injury, and she was on crutches 10 days before the year’s first major began. But she battled back Tuesday despite going down early.

“We’re going to be playing each other many times in the future, as we’re both young and coming,” Raducanu said. “You know, like, we’re going to be the next generation.”

The 2023 Australian Open begins Monday, with top American players Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula both set to take the court on the first day of action.

Just Women’s Sports highlights Gauff, Pegula and two more players who should have your attention at the year’s first major tournament.

Coco Gauff

Gauff had a year to remember in 2022, including her first major final appearance at the French Open. And she’s off to a strong start in 2023 with a title win in Auckland. While just the third title of her career, she sits at No. 7 in the world.

“Honestly it’s been a fantastic week for me despite the rain, I can’t ask for a better start to the season,” Gauff said after the win in Auckland.

At the Australian Open, she’ll face off against world No. 48 Katerina Siniakova on Monday, though the match will begin at 7 p.m. ET Sunday in the United States, with Iga Swiatek potentially waiting in the quarterfinals.

Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur also had a standout 2022, reaching her first two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. In doing so, she became the first African woman and the first Tunisian and Arab player – man or woman – to make a Grand Slam final.

While she didn’t come out on top in those matches, Jabeur did rocket up to a career-high world No. 2 ranking.

She’ll start her Australian Open run Tuesday against Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek.

Iga Swiatek

Last year, Swiatek made the Australian Open semifinals, but she fell to Madison Keys, who then lost to Ash Barty in the championship match. Barty retired immediately after that tournament, which clears the path between Swiatek and the title.

After the 2022 tournament, Swiatek went on a historic 37-match winning streak to cap off her ascent to the world No. 1 ranking.

She also won two majors on the year, including the US Open. At the US Open, she faced off against Jule Niemeier, who will be her first-round opponent at the Australian Open. Swiatek won their meeting in Flushing Meadows in three sets.

“It’s nice also that we played not so long ago, so I can take a lot from that match,” she said. “Now I know how her ball feels on the racquet. But she has the same.”

Jessica Pegula

Historically, Jessica Pegula has done well Down Under. In her past two appearances in the Australian Open, Pegula has made the quarterfinals. To open the year, she went 4-1 at the United Cup, which included a straight-set win over world No. 1 Swiatek.

She currently sits at No. 3 in the world, which is a career high. She’s the highest-ranked American, male or female, after only just cracking the top 100 in 2019. Last year, she made three quarterfinal appearances in the Grand Slams, including the US Open.

A month after the year’s final major, she won her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara, defeating four consecutive Grand Slam champions to do so.