“It hurts,” Coco Gauff faces the press with a heavy heart as she breaks out of the Australian Open after a straight-set loss against Aryan Sabalenka

After the match, during the press conference, Gauff faced the press conference with a heavy heart.

“It hurts,” Coco Gauff faces the press with a heavy heart as she breaks out of the Australian Open after a straight-set loss against Aryan Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff (Images via X)

Coco Gauff had been enjoying a great run at the Australian Open until she met Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal. She lost the match to the Belarusian with a scoreline of 6-7 (2–7), 4-6 on Thursday (January 25) at the Rod Laver Arena.

After the match, during the press conference, Gauff faced the press conference with a heavy heart. She acknowledged that Sabalenka played better than her but called this encounter better than the last time they faced each other in the US Open final. The teenage sensation also admitted that she needed to improve her game and make fewer errors.

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Tough match for me tonight. Overall, a positive tournament. I had chances in both sets, but she played better. I did my best with the game plan that I had. It came down to a couple of points.
Gauff said at the press conference
She served better than in the US Open. Made fewer errors. I was more aggressive as well. At the US Open, it wasn't a great match, even though I won. I played better tonight. A lot of positives to take. A loss is a loss. It hurts no matter what's the score.
She added

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Coco Gauff: Match Recap

Both Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff were looking for their second Grand Slam titles and now the latter will have to try her luck at Roland Garros this year. In the Australian Open semifinal, Gauff was seen struggling from the very start.

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Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka (Images via X)

She gave a lead to Sabalenka 3-5 in the first set, then toiled hard to ensure the set went into a tie-breaker, but Gauff could not take the set. The Belarusian did not make any mistakes in the tie-breaker, clinching the set comfortably with a 7-2.

Then in the second set, although each won four games, the American couldn’t repeat what she did in the first set, as a result of which the 19-year-old eventually lost the match.

Sabalenka has now advanced to the Grand Slam singles final for the third time. Already a winner in Melbourne, Sabalenka will face Chinese sensation Qinwen Zheng in the summit clash on Saturday (January 27).

Zheng defeated Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to progress into her first Grand Slam final. Sabalenka and Zheng have faced each other just once, at the 2023 US Open quarterfinals, which the Belarusian won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, but the final did not go in favor. But she perfectly took revenge by defeating Gauff in the semifinal of this Australian Open.

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