Gauff rallies to despatch Baptiste in all-American matchup

MELBOURNE: Coco Gauff shrugged off a poor start against fellow American Hailey Baptiste on the way to a 3-6 6-0 6-3 win on Friday, reaching the Australian Open fourth round as she continues her bid for a first title at Melbourne Park.

Gauff was broken twice as she lost her first set of the tournament to world number 70 Baptiste, who threatened the shock of the Grand Slam until losing her way completely in the second set.

Cutting down the errors, Gauff produced her purest tennis to bagel Baptiste then broke her in the sixth game of the decider before serving out the match. “Honestly, I didn’t change too much. I tried to get more first serves in. I wasn’t too upset (after the first set),” third seed Gauff said on court.

“I was able to raise my level and I’m happy with how I stayed mentally calm through that.”

Though unable to match Gauff’s power and hustle, Baptiste gave the twice Grand Slam champion a proper workout before the American faces Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova for a place in the quarter-finals. Before exiting the arena, Gauff called out a fan who she felt had crossed the line in supporting her over Baptiste.

“Hailey’s a great competitor, so to the guy who made that comment, we’re all doing our best out here…. Let’s all be respectful,” she said to cheers from the stands.