Ostapenko blitzes Gauff to reach Australian Open quarterfinals

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No.17 seed Jelena Ostapenko moved through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career with a 7-5, 6-3 win over No.7 seed Coco Gauff at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

The Latvian, competing in her first Round 4 at the Australian Open, leveled her career head-to-head against Gauff to 1-1 with a 93-minute triumph in Margaret Court Arena. She'll next face reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina for a spot in the semifinals, after the Kazakh scored an upset of her own against World No.1 Iga Swiatek in their fourth-round match.

She clocked 30 winners and saved seven of the eight break points she faced, while going a perfect 3-for-3 on her chances against Gauff's serve. 

The win is Ostapenko's first over a Top 10 player at a Grand Slam in three years, and it'll be her first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance since 2018. 

"My life changed a lot [after winning Roland Garros], so I needed a few years to really get used to what happened because I was really young. I was 19 and then turned 20," Ostapenko said.

"I always knew and believed in my game. If I play well, I can beat almost anyone. I was trying to work more on my consistency, especially in the preseason. Yeah, just to step on the court and play my game.

"I think I'm doing it quite well this week."

Match management: Gauff let six break point chances go by in the first set after being the first player to break serve. She led 2-1, but Ostapenko broke back immediately for 2-2; from then on, the Latvian saved two break points as 2-2, and crucially, four at 3-3 -- including 0-40. 

Gauff had two game points to force a tiebreak, but lost serve for a second time to fall a set behind. Ostapenko then saved the only break point she faced in the second set in the opening game.

Conversely, Gauff was pushed past deuce in each of her first three service games of the set -- never facing break point -- before surrendering the decisive break in the eighth game. 

Quarterfinal outlook: Ostapenko is 2-0 in her career against Rybakina, having only lost 11 games in two matches. Their last meeting came on grass last year in Eastbourne, a 6-4, 6-1 win for the Latvian before Rybakina went on to win at the All-England Club.

"I'm just trying to take one match at a time and not to look the draw completely. So try to prepare as good as possible for every match," Ostapenko said.

"Of course, it's going to be a hard match against Elena, but we played a couple of times, and I know how to play against her. I'm just going to try to focus more on myself and on my game, and hopefully I can bring the good and aggressive game again."

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