Coco Gauff: "Mentally, I'm one of the strongest out there"

Coco Gauff has exuded confidence ahead of her maiden Australian Open semifinal on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the reigning US Open champion recovered from the loss of the second set in a tiebreak to beat Marta Kostyuk on Rod Laver Arena. The teenager had to dig deep for the victory under the Melbourne sun, though.

Gauff recovered from 5-1 down in the first set and saved set points, one on serve while serving at 2-5, and another in the ensuing tiebreak, at 5-6, before taking the opener.

In the second set, Gauff recovered from an early break but forced to serve out the match, as Kostyuk forced a decider. Gauff, though, regained control of proceedings, dropping just two games to book her place in the last-four.

In her post-match press conference, the American said that her mental strength is one of her strong points, along with her movement.

"I think for me definitely my movement. When my serve is on, I think my serve is a big weapon for me, same with returns. I didn't return that well today, but usually I do well with that."

She added:

"I think just my mental strength. I think that's gotten me through a lot of matches, and I feel like, mentally, I'm one of the strongest out there, and I try my best to reset after each point. I think those are my strengths that I can think of right off the top of my head."

Gauff is off to a 10-0 start to 2024, dropping just two sets, one of them being the Auckland final against Elina Svitolina two weeks ago. She next meets ninth seed Barbara Krejcikova or defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the Melbourne final.

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"The goal is to stay here for as long as possible" - Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff has been on a roll since her Grand Slam breakthrough at the US Open last year, losing only thrice in 26 matches.

That has seen the teenager rise up to No. 4 in singles. Nevertheless, Gauff reckons she approaches matches the same way as she did previously. During the aforementioned press conference, she added:

"No, I don't really approach matches differently. But yeah, there is definitely a change in just the energy. ... Yeah, definitely, I remember being in that position, too, when I was underdog and you just play free."

Gauff also noted:

"Yeah, it's always, I think there's a quote, it's not easy to get to the top, but easier to get to the top but harder to stay there. The goal is to stay here as long as possible and keep going upwards. I mean, I'm not at the top, but I'm up there."

Coco Gauff is projected to rise to at least World No. 3 next Monday.