Coco Gauff spoke very highly of Belinda Bencic following their Australian Open round-of-16 match and also underlined that she expects a tough task when she meets Paula Badosa.
On Sunday, the American tennis star beat the Swiss currently ranked at No. 294 in the world with a 5-7 6-2 6-1 scoreline.
Although Bencic has been regarded as one of the best players on the Tour for years now, she just recently launched her post-pregnancy comeback.
With that being said, many had Gauff as the big favorite to win the match.
While the 2023 US Open champion ultimately managed to come out on top, she was tested and it absolutely wasn’t an easy day at the office.
“Belinda is obviously a great player, no matter what form she’s in. I just was trying to be more aggressive in the second and third. Kind of play bigger because she was playing so big,” the No. 3 seed said following her win.
Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic© Australian Open/YouTube
Gauff shows respect for Badosa
In order to secure back-to-back Australian Open semifinal tickets, the 20-year-old will have to beat Paula Badosa, who has been one of the best players on the WTA Tour since mid-2024.
And the 12th-ranked Spaniard has never been an easy opponent for the American, having won three of their six meetings.
While Gauff beat the Spanish player twice last year, she insists that she definitely won’t take her next opponent for granted.
“Every time I play Paula it’s a tough match. She’s playing great tennis. Last time we played it went three sets. I expect it to be another tough match,” the world No. 3 said.
Badosa may be in great form but the American is as well, having won her last 11 matches, dating back to the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Tennis World USA