Two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff defeated Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in three sets to advance to Sunday’s Australian Open quarterfinals.
Gauff, who won the 2023 U.S. Open and last year’s French Open, dominated the first set and led 5-0 before finishing with a 6-1 lead. After the players traded early breaks in the second set, Muchova broke again in the fourth game and held on to take the set 6-3. It was the Czech player’s first set in five career matches against Mercedes-Benz’s third-ranked WTA Tour rankings Gauff.
At 1-all in the deciding set, Gauff scored 12 of the next 13 points to build a 4-1 lead. Despite much resistance from Muchova, the third-seeded American held firm and won 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in less than two hours.
Here are some interesting numbers from Gauff’s win.
3: Gauff will be appearing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year. She reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2024, losing to Aryna Sabalenka, and in 2025, lost to Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. She is also the youngest American woman to reach at least three consecutive singles quarterfinals at the Australian Open since Mary Jo Fernandez from 1990 to 1993.
5: With this win, Gauff and Muchova’s head-to-head record now stands at 5-0. The American had not dropped a set in any of the previous four meetings against his Czech rival. What’s interesting is that Gauff went on to win titles with Team USA in each of the previous tournaments she played against Muchova: Cincinnati and the US Open in 2023, Beijing in 2024, and the United Cup in 2025.
6: This is the sixth consecutive year Gauff has reached the Grand Slam quarterfinals. She became the youngest player since Martina Hingis (1996-2002) and Venus Williams (1997-2002) to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament in more than six consecutive years.
10: This is the 10th time in her career that Gauff has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. He has appeared in the quarter-finals three times at Melbourne Park, as well as reaching the last eight at Roland Garros five times and the US Open twice.
41: Gauff has won her past 41 Grand Slam matches by winning the first set. The last time she lost after winning the first set in a major match was at Wimbledon in 2022 against fellow American Amanda Anisimova.
50: Gauff converted 50% of her break point opportunities Sunday, breaking Muchova four times in eight chances. Muchova converted 40% of her break points and went 2-for-5.
Gauff will face the winner of the evening session match between No. 8 seed Mila Andreeva and No. 12 seed Elina Svitolina. The American holds a 4-0 advantage over Andreeva and a 2-1 advantage over Svitolina, having won her last two matches.