Mats Wilander has praised the attitude of US Open champion Coco Gauff whom he esteems to have matured tremendously since her maiden Grand Slam win in New York.
Wilander was struck by how Gauff has continued her upward trajectory and attributed it to her mindset.
Gauff defeated Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday to easily advance to her first-ever Australian Open quarter-final.
“First Aussie quarterfinal, super happy to be in this position and be here,” Gauff said after her win over the Polish No 2.
“It’s cool to get over that hump,” Gauff said of breaking into the Australian Open’s last eight club.
“Hopefully I can keep going for more,” the American No 1 added.
In front of Australian icon Laver himself, Gauff, the defending US Open champion, defeated World No 69 Frech in just 63 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The American teenager will next take on Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, a first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist. With a 6-2, 6-1 victory against qualifier Maria Timofeeva in Kia Arena on Sunday, Kostyuk advanced to the round of eight.
Gauff has maintained her perfect record for the season with her most recent victory.
The American is currently up to 9-0 in 2024 after retaining her Auckland championship in the opening week of the year.
Wilander believes that what Gauff has said about her own game suggests she has learned some key lessons about the nature of the sport.
“Coco is looking better and better,” Wilander said on Eurosport’s coverage of the Australian Open on Sunday.
“I think her attitude is spot on by saying she doesn’t need to play her best tennis to even win a tournament like this.
“She’s dealt with the pressure of being the last Grand Slam champion coming in from the US Open. We’ve talked about her serve and her athleticism is amazing.
“The attitude is great and [she is] now maybe even more mature now than four months ago.”
Gauff hasn’t yet met a seeded player in Melbourne, where she’s received a straightforward draw.
But as she maintains her unstoppable Grand Slam form, she has easily defeated every opponent she has played and has not given up a set.
She will have a more difficult challenge in the semi-finals against either second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or 11th-ranked Barbora Krejcikova if she can overcome Kostyuk on Tuesday and extend her career-best run in Melbourne.