Coco Gauff stutters into last four at Australian Open after wild ride against Marta Kostyuk

Coco Gauff stuttered into the 2024 Australian Open semi-finals after a wild ride against world No. 35 Marta Kostyuk.

The American fourth seed struggled to keep her game together on Rod Laver Arena, with both players guilty of some astonishing unforced errors, but somehow got it done 7-6(6) 6-7(3) 6-2.

She will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the last four.

“I’m really proud of the fight I showed today, Marta is a tough opponent. Every time we play it’s a tough match. I really fought and left it all on the court today,” Gauff said on court.

A rollercoaster match featured an astonishing 16 breaks of serve – with the chaos starting in the fourth game as Kostyuk made the first breakthrough to lead 3-1.

The Ukrainian repeated the trick at the next opportunity to move 5-1 ahead, only to see Gauff break back, save a set point, and then break again to get the first set back on serve.

Kostyuk served for the set for a second time after cracking her opponent again for 6-5, but Gauff duly hit back to force a tie-break.

The service allergies continued with nine mini-breaks in the breaker as Gauff pinched it, with the American’s mum stealing the spotlight when taking a fine catch from a wayward Kostyuk return.

The unpredictability continued into the second set as the players traded breaks immediately, with Gauff’s game continuing to unravel and Kostyuk marrying the sublime with the shocking.

Gauff had the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-3 but her first serve joined her forehand and drive volley in deserting her, allowing Kostyuk to step back in and soon force another tie-break.

The longest point of the match – 36 points – kicked off the breaker as Kostyuk peppered the fading Gauff forehand, eventually getting the mini-break as her opponent found the tramlines.

The Ukrainian quickly opened up a 4-0 lead and, after a now customary wobble, raced away to level proceedings as Gauff again missed from the forehand wing.

Despite only being able to rely upon her unflappable backhand, Gauff began the third set on the front foot and grabbed another break as esteemed tennis coach Miles Maclagan lauded her “resilience” on Eurosport commentary.

Kostyuk’s coach could be repeatedly heard bellowing instructions from the sidelines, but it was all starting to fall apart for the Ukrainian as she fell a double-break behind in the decider.

A huge “come on” from the 21-year-old hinted at one final twist after an inevitable break back, but this time Gauff was too far clear as the US Open champion wrapped up a crazy outing to make it 12 straight wins at Grand Slams.

“In the second [set], I put myself in the opportunity [to win the match] but I got a little bit passive,” said Gauff.

“So when I came out in the third, I was just trying to play aggressive and hit through the court.”