Coco Gauff was forced to raise her level in her third-round meeting with compatriot Hailey Baptiste on Friday at Australian Open 2026.
But when she did, it was one-way traffic.
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The world No.3 had no answers for her compatriot in the opening set, but bounced back emphatically to win 3-6 6-0 6-3 to book a meeting with Karolina Muchova in the fourth round on Sunday.
Baptiste’s fast start asked questions of Gauff on Friday.
Having used her power to defeat Taylor Townsend and Storm Hunter to feature in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, Baptiste’s forehand was an early problem for Gauff, producing six of 12 winners from her right side to take the first set 6-3.
However, as all great players do, Gauff fought back. With a clutch serving performance and an improvement in the winners’ category, the 21-year-old quickly wrestled back momentum.
A second-set bagel from Gauff, the first she has dished out since the Wuhan quarterfinals last October, was the catalyst in maintaining her perfect third-round record at Melbourne Park, reaching the second week here for the sixth time.
“Honestly, I didn’t change too much [from the first set to the second set]. I think I tried to get more first serves in, but she played so well in the first set.
“Maybe if a couple of points go my way, it could have been a different outcome, but I wasn’t too upset,” added Gauff, who won through in an hour and 50 minutes.
“I just said, ‘if she plays like this the whole match and I can’t raise my level, then great job to her’. But I was able to raise my level, and I’m happy with how I mentally stayed calm through that.”
Margaret Court Arena is a far cry from Palm Springs, California – the home of Indian Wells – where the pair were roommates. Having spent time practicing together throughout their childhood, their match highlighted the impact their families have had on their tennis careers.
“If you told us at that age that we’d be playing each other, especially because we didn’t really play against each other in juniors … the fact that we played each other also on the biggest stage, I feel the most happy for our parents,” she said.
“Both her parents and my parents are pretty involved in our tennis and have been involved throughout our whole lives. I think what was especially cool was seeing her dad in her box … just knowing the stuff they had to do to help us get to this level.”
As she aims to maintain her strong record at the Australian Open, Gauff will battle the No.19 seed and AO 2021 semifinalist Muchova for a place in her third straight AO quarterfinal.
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Another opponent who is known for her variety, Gauff hopes to take her learnings from this encounter into her fourth-round match.
“It’s not often that you play two players like Muchova and Hailey, so I think I’ll need to try to take what I did today and try and make some more adjustments to do better,” she said.
“She’s a tough opponent, I always say she’s one of the best players on tour and deserves way more wins than she has.
“It’s never easy with her, but I’m happy with today, and I’ll look forward to her [on Sunday].”