Coco Gauff's winning streak ended against Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
The American third seed arrived in Melbourne as the most in-form player on the tour after winning the WTA Finals which she ended last season and then all five singles matches at the United Cup, including one against Iga Swiatek.
She entered the round of 16 with 11th seed Bados on a 13-match winning streak, but it was the Spaniard who came out on top in a 7-5 6-4 win.
Badosa feared she might have to retire last year due to persistent back problems, but she finished the season strongly, reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open, and has now reached a new high in Melbourne.
Paula Badosa from Spain celebrates her victory. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
“I came in today and I wanted to play my best game, and I think I did,” she said. “Koko, at the beginning she played crazy tennis, but I'm very proud of the level I gave today.
“A year ago I was here with my back and I didn't know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I'm playing against the best in the world. Today I won, I'm in the semi-finals. I never thought that a year after being here.”
Both players held serve until 5-5 in the first set, when Badosa hit before opening up a 5-2 lead in the second set.
She wasn't able to do it the first time she asked, but she made no mistake the second time around when she set up a clash against Arya Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Gauff was left rueing 41 unforced errors but was philosophical afterwards, saying: “Paula played brilliantly. Maybe some moments in the first set could have gone my way, it could have been a different outcome in the first set.
“I think there's just a lot more work to do. Obviously I'm disappointed, but I'm not completely devastated. I'm looking forward to a lot. Even though I lost today, I feel like I'm on an up. trajectory.”
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