In a stunning upset at the Australian Open, Paula Badosa defeated world number three Coco Gauff in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, to reach her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, Al Jazeera reports.
The emotional victory for the 11th-seeded Spaniard ends Gauff’s undefeated streak this season and marks a remarkable comeback for Badosa, who was ranked outside the top 100 just a year ago due to a back stress fracture.
Badosa’s aggressive start immediately put Gauff’s serve under pressure. The American, uncharacteristically struggled, failing to generate any break points in the first set and making a high number of unforced errors. The match, which lasted an hour and 43 minutes, sees Badosa become the first Spanish woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Garbine Muguruza in 2020.
Despite her loss, Gauff expressed a more positive outlook compared to her US Open exit.
Zverev Advances, Feather Interrupts Play
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, second seed Alexander Zverev secured his spot in the semifinals with a convincing 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tommy Paul.
The German overcame a minor setback in the second set, when he was down a break and Paul held off two break points. A bizarre incident saw a point replayed when chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called a let after a white feather drifted into Zverev’s line of sight during his backswing. The unusual interruption momentarily paused the match, but Zverev regained his composure and closed out the set. Zverev, considered among the favorites to win the title, was given a warning for cursing earlier in the match.
Zverev now awaits the winner of the highly anticipated quarterfinal clash between ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
