Coco Gauff exits , Sabalenka,Alcaraz, Zverev cruises through in AusOpen 2026

 



Third seed Coco Gauff’s dream of winning her third Grand Slam title came to an end on Tuesday as she suffered a straight-sets defeat against Ukraine’s 12th seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The American star was comprehensively beaten 1–6, 2–6 at the Rod Laver Arena.

While Gauff bowed out, Svitolina booked her place in the semi-finals for the first time in Melbourne, continuing her impressive comeback to top-level tennis. At 31, the Ukrainian is now chasing her maiden Grand Slam title.

Gauff struggled badly with her serve throughout the match, committing five double faults in the opening set alone. Svitolina broke her serve four times in that set, taking full advantage of the American’s errors and sealing it quickly. Despite changing her racquet several times, Gauff failed to find rhythm, and Svitolina broke again early in the second set to go 3–0 up. From there, Gauff never recovered and eventually walked off the court visibly disappointed.

Svitolina, who had taken a break from tennis after becoming a mother, expressed her delight after the match. “My dream was to come back and re-enter the top 10. It feels amazing that it’s about to happen,” she said. With this win, she is set to return to the world’s top 10 rankings.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also continued her dominant run, defeating American Eva Jovic in straight sets, 6–3, 6–0. Sabalenka was aggressive from the start, firing multiple aces and breaking Jovic’s serve repeatedly. Although her first serve showed some inconsistency, Jovic failed to convert five break-point opportunities, allowing the Belarusian to cruise into the semi-finals.

In the men’s quarter-finals, third seed Alexander Zverev advanced after a four-set battle against American learner Tien, winning 6–3, 6–7, 6–1, 7–6. Zverev dominated the first set, but Tien fought back strongly to take the second in a tie-break. The German regained control in the third set with powerful baseline play, and eventually sealed the match with another tie-break in the fourth.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz completed the semi-final line-up with a commanding straight-sets victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur, winning 7–5, 6–2, 6–1. While the first set was closely contested, Alcaraz gradually imposed his authority with his trademark power tennis. He created 16 break-point opportunities and converted seven of them, never allowing de Minaur to settle into the match.

Despite strong home support for de Minaur, Alcaraz remained in complete control in the final two sets. The Spaniard now faces Zverev in what promises to be a high-voltage semi-final clash.

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