There’s a saying in Victoria: “If you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, wait a while.” Depending on whether the wind comes from the icy waters of Antarctica or the burning desert of the interior of Australia, the temperature can vary by around fifteen degrees in a few hours. It was under a blazing sun that Belinda Bencic faced the American Coco Gauff, seeded n°3 in the tournament, at midday on Sunday. After a week and three rounds in mild air, the Saint-Galloise was only able to resist an hour against a player who was physically impressive, intractable defensively and full of confidence. Gauff won 5-7 6-2 6-1 and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where she will face Spaniard Paula Badosa.
Since November, Coco Gauff had racked up 12 victories without losing a single set. The Georgian added a thirteenth success but had to fight to overcome the loss of the first set, absolutely beautiful. For 62 minutes, the two players went blow for blow from the baseline. No break until 4-4, few break points, very few unforced errors, intense rallies. Bencic’s hand quality and open support allowed him to find angles at the right times and accelerate without forcing. “She played really well in the first set, I was having trouble being offensive,” explained Gauff who, fortunately for her, is also an exceptional defender.
It was first of all her physical superiority which allowed her to come back in the second round, before breaking away very clearly, being able in turn to be aggressive against a Swiss woman lacking fuel. Bencic had no break points in the final two sets but nevertheless fought until the end: the third set of only seven games lasted 46 minutes, the game 2h26.
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For Belinda Bencic, these eight days in Melbourne were a great success. Back in the Grand Slam after more than a year of absence, the young mother of Bella (born in April 2024) immediately found her feet, both as an athlete and as a mother. Thanks to her daughter, she now allows herself a lot more outings during tournaments. For example, she took her to the Melbourne Aquarium during a day off. When she played, she was very competitive. The ability to chain rounds and keep pace when the level accelerates will increase with the repetition of matches but she seemed more consistent than in the past, where she regularly had an off day.
This return to round of 16 is quite simply her best result equaled in Melbourne and her best result equaled in a Grand Slam since her quarter-final of the US Open in 2021 against Emma Raducanu. In the WTA rankings, Bencic should approach 150th in the world next Monday. She, who started from 294th place (but with the help of a protected ranking due to her maternity), has already completed half of her path to the top. In just a week and an hour.
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