Coco Gauff Cruises Into Australian Open Quarterfinals in 1st Match ...

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Coco Gauff of the United States serves in their round four ... [+] singles match against Magdalena Frech of Poland during the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

With world No. 1 Iga Swiatek having been knocked out of the Australian Open, U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff is now the betting favorite to win her second straight Grand Slam title.

In her first match as the favorite, the 19-year-old American dispatched Magdalena Frech of Poland, 6-1, 6-2, to reach her first Australian Open quarterfinal. It was Gauff’s 11th straight win in majors, dating to her championship in New York last fall.

Asked on court if she was in a rush to get through the match in about an hour, Gauff joked, “I wanna see ‘The Iron Claw’ tonight, I want to go to the movies.”

Then she added: “I’m not in a rush to go anywhere. There’s no better court in Australia than Rod Laver and it was honor to play here so thank you for coming to my match.”

When it was pointed out that Laver himself wa, in fact, in the stands, Gauff added that she was fortunate not to notice him until she was well ahead in the match so she wasn’t distracted or nervous.

“There’s a lot of legends over there so thanks for coming,” she said.

Gauff could be headed for a semifinal collision with defending champion and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who routed 22-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 6-2, in the fourth round. Anisimova had beaten Sabalenka four of the five times they had played.

Gauff only had one ace in the match but won 78% of her first-serve points while converting 5-of-9 break opportunities.

Gauff has credited her off-season work with former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick for improving her serve — she has the fastest serve in the women’s tournament at 124 mpg. Both Roddick and Gauff have been coached by Brad Gilbert.

“I just adjusted the way that I tossed the ball up a little bit, which allowed my toss to be more consistent,” she told the Eurosport Cube. “Then I just felt that the more consistent my serve is, the more I’m OK with going for it in those big moments.

“I still know I can improve on it, but I’m really happy with the progress that I’ve made in the short amount of time.

“He [Roddick] is one of the best servers ever, so when he offered the advice I flew to his home and we made some magic. It was only two days there, but I think it was the most meaningful two days of practice that I’ve ever had.

“The way I was able to adjust it so quickly and for it to work right away was pretty seamless, so I really credit him and thank him for taking the time to do that.”

Gauff has also credited world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz with helping her enjoy the game more.

"Carlos in Cincinnati, he was losing a set every match pretty much and he wasn't playing his best, that was clear," Gauff said last summer. "The way that he was still smiling against Hubi Hurkacz [Hubert Hurkacz] and he was down a set and a break or something like that, I don't know, he was down crazy or down match points. He was still smiling."

Gauff learned that she could do the same thing.

"If he [Alcaraz] can smile,” she said, “he's No. 1 in the world and he has all this pressure, he's supposed to beat Hubi [Hubert Hurkacz] on paper, then I can do it in situations maybe where, most of the time now I'm not the underdog, but against, for example, like Iga [Swiatek] or Sabalenka [Aryna], those where I'm considered the underdog on paper, I can smile too."

She added: “"I have a lot of joy in me but I just seem to bottle it up when I play. Now I'm really just having fun and laughing and smiling, and I think it's making tennis more enjoyable."