Australian Open | Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff reach the quarter-finals

(Melbourne) Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday in Melbourne, placing herself three wins away from achieving what no player has achieved since the 1990s.

The 2023 and 2024 champion extended her winning streak there to 18, winning 6-1, 6-2 against Mirra Andreeva, the 14th^e seeded.

Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999, was the last to triumph three years in a row at the Australian stage of the Grand Slam.

Sabalenka hugged Andreeva after the duel, waved to the crowd, took a photo with her instant camera and gave a thumbs up to mark the occasion.

“It’s just a nice time. I really love seeing all these photos. I started in the preparatory season, and it’s so cute to see these little moments, she explained.

“Other than that, I don’t know, I just want to get better every day, get better as a player, as a person, and capture the big moments. »

Sabalenka has won 24 rounds in a row in Melbourne.

“I’m really happy to have resolved this difficult match in two sets,” she said of her victory in 62 minutes. Mirra is so young, so mature, so good. She can play very good tennis. »

Andreeva won five points in a row in the fifth game of the second set, holding her serve. Number 1 in women’s tennis, Sabalenka dominated for most of the rest of the match, however.

Sabalenka didn’t allow a break point until midway through the second set.

In the quarters, Sabalenka will meet Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 27^e seeded, who took the measure of the Croatian Donna Vekic, 18^e seeded, in two sets of 7-6 (0), 6-0 in the fourth round.

Gauff is also moving forward

Coco Gauff’s quest for a second Grand Slam title continued with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the fourth round.

The 20-year-old American, who won the US Open in 2023, however saw her streak end in Australia. She had previously won 16 consecutive rounds in Melbourne.

The third seed was unable to control his shots sufficiently in the first set, hitting as many as 20 unforced errors. Bencic took the opportunity to break his last two service games and win 7-5.

Gauff, however, regained control afterwards and completely dominated the next two rounds, notably achieving 17 winning shots against only two for her opponent in the second round.

In the quarter-finals, the American will face the Spaniard Paula Badosa, 11^e seeded. The latter defeated Serbian Olga Danilovic 6-1, 7-6 (2) to reach this stage of the competition for the first time in her career in Melbourne.