"Aryna Sabalenka will be much tougher mentally, it’s going to be really tough for Coco Gauff to win Australian Open SF" - Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova recently stated that it will be really tough for Coco Gauff to win the 2024 Australian Open against Aryna Sabalenka. She attributed this to the Belarusian's superior mental strength compared to Gauff.

Sabalenka defeated Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 11 minutes to move into her sixth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. Meanwhile, Gauff reached the last four of the Melbourne Slam for the first time after defeating Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 7-6(6), 6-7(3), 6-2 in three hours and eight minutes. This win also marked the World No. 3's 12th consecutive victory at a Grand Slam.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel, Martina Navratilova gave her thoughts on the semifinal clash between Gauff and Sabalenka. Navratilova expressed that the World No. 2 possesses a significant advantage over Gauff in terms of strength.

Navratilova also talked about the influential role that the crowd will play in the match, suggesting that they will likely rally behind Sabalenka due to her winning the Australian Open title last year. The 18-time Grand Slam champion drew a parallel to the 2023 US Open final, where the crowd's overwhelming support for Gauff seemed to have worked in the American's favor.

"She [Aryna Sabalenka] won three matches 3-2, one 0-1, and 0-0 against quality opponents. So yeah, I think Sabalenka is much stronger. Also, the big difference is the crowd. I think there will still be for Coco, but I think Sabalenka, having won last year and it’s Australia, not the US, they’ll make a difference," Navratilova said (at 0:46).

Martina Navratilova stated that the Belarusian will be mentally tougher in comparison to Gauff, and will not allow external factors, such as the crowd's influence, to affect her performance as it did during the 2023 US Open final.

"I think Sabalenka will be much tougher mentally. I don’t think she'll let whatever happens to the crowd get to her the way she did at the US Open. Same time Coco not playing as well, particularly in this last match, so it’s gonna be a test of the mental fortitude more than anything, but the way Sabalenka’s been playing, I think it’s going to be really tough for Coco to win [the Australian Open SF] even though she’s been better in these stressful situations before," she added.

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Aryna Sabalenka: "It's always great battles against Coco Gauff, with really great fights"

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open

Following her win over Barbora Krejcikova, Aryna Sabalenka gave her thoughts on her upcoming semifinal match against Coco Gauff. She expressed her determination to avenge her previous defeat at the US Open final and also expressed her excitement for the upcoming encounter.

"I love it. I love it. After US Open, I really wanted that revenge, and, I mean, that's a great match. It's always great battles against Coco, with really great fights. I'm happy to play her, and I'm super excited to play that semifinal match," Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka acknowledged that Gauff is performing "really well" in the tournament and that she is anticipating a challenging match against her.

"She's moving really well. Everything you do on court, it's coming back. So you need to build the point probably couple times in one point to have that -- not like easy shot, but yeah, easy shot, you know, to finish the point. So that's why she's a really tough opponent," she added.

Coco Gauff currently holds a 4-2 lead in head-to-head matches against Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff's most recent victory over the Belarusian came at the 2023 US Open final, where she secured her first-ever Grand Slam title.