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Australian Open: Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic move on to semifinals, American Taylor Fritz eliminated

Liz Roscher
Staff writer
·2 min read
12

The 2024 Australian Open rolls on toward its conclusion this week, and we now know half of the players who will be competing in the semifinal.

American Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic of Serbia have both made it through to the penultimate match of the first major of the 2024 season, and will play later this week for a shot at the final.

Gauff battles to maiden semifinal

After a big 2023, Gauff is starting 2024 in a big way. She came out on top against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in a hard-fought match that showed off her grit, determination and pure raw talent. Gauff won 7-6(6), 6(3)-7, 6-2 in three hours and eight minutes.

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
American Coco Gauff is through to her first Australian Open semifinal after beating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

This match went the distance in almost every way. It was long and required tiebreaks in the first two sets. Gauff and Kostyuk battled fiercely, splitting the first two sets, but the third is what sets Coco apart from numerous other tennis players her age (she's 19, Kostyuk is 21). She's got the stamina, physically and mentally, to play a third all-out set after expending so much energy on the first two. In the end, that's how Gauff beat Kostyuk; she had the energy while Kostyuk ran out of gas.

Gauff will face foe Aryna Sabalenka in the semis. Gauff is 4-2 in their meetings, but is looking for revenge after losing to Sabalenka in the US Open final last September.

Djokovic advances to 11th Aussie Open semifinal

In news that should surprise no one, Djokovic is back in the semifinals. He beat 12th-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The match started with Fritz, the top-ranked American in the world, coming out strong against Djokovic. The first set ended with a tiebreak that went to Djokovic, but Fritz didn't lose a stitch, winning the second set outright without a tiebreak. But we know Djokovic loves the pressure. He pounced in the third set and didn't look back, sending a barrage of unreturnable shots as Fritz ran out of gas.

Djokovic has won 10 Australian Open titles. He's never been to the semis without going on to win the whole thing. He'll play No. 4 Jannik Sinner in the next round.