DAY 8 WOMEN: Gauff comes through Bencic test , Sabalenka blows away Andreeva

Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and extend her winning streak from the start of the season to nine matches.

Swiss Bencic, ranked a lowly 294th on her return to the tour after having a daughter, had won seven of her eight meetings with major champions and showed why as she took the first set in bright sunshine on Rod Laver Arena.

American third seed Gauff, who had not previously dropped a set in 2025, came out firing at the start of the second stanza, however, and got her reward for her more aggressive shot-making when she levelled up the contest at 1-1.

Bencic had a look at Gauff's serve in the opening game of the decider but the 2023 US Open champion slammed the door shut before breaking for 3-1 as the net cord twice conspired against her opponent.

The 27-year-old Swiss looked broken by her bad luck and Gauff rattled off the last three games to seal the victory and a set a quarter-final date with Spain's Paula Badosa.

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"I thought in the first set she played great tennis, it was tough for me to be more on offence," the 20-year-old said.

"Overall I'm happy with how I played, the first set could have gone my way with a few more points and I played more aggressively in the second set then reset to play my best in the third."

Gauff will not be entirely happy with nine double faults in a total tally of 45 unforced errors, nor with a success rate on her second serve of around 40 per cent, as she looks to at least match her run to the semi-finals in Melbourne last year.

"We worked very hard in the offseason, obviously there's still a lot for me to go to accomplish my goal," Gauff said.

"Maybe a couple of years ago, if I lost the first set I might lose the match and I remember my dad said, 'we've got to toughen you up'.

"I was just trying to put myself in the position where I could leave the court and feel proud of myself."

SABALENKA BLOWS AWAY ANDREEVA TO REACH QUARTERFINALS

Aryna Sabalenka stayed on course for a historic third consecutive Australian Open crown on Sunday, ruthlessly blowing away teenager Mirra Andreeva to reach the quarterfinals.

Sabalenka was in irresistible form on Rod Laver Arena, powering to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in just 62 minutes against the Russian 17-year-old, the Belarusian's 18th consecutive win at Melbourne Park.

"I'm super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets," said Sabalenka, who will face either Croatian 18th seed Donna Vekic or 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia next.

"She's so young but always playing great tennis, it's always tough battles against her."

Despite registering three straight-sets wins, Sabalenka had not been at her imperious best during the first week.

She dropped serve three times in the second round and five times before battling past Clara Tauson 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to reach the last 16.

She had no such problems in much warmer conditions against Andreeva, ripping through her first two service games without conceding a point and breaking for a 4-1 lead.

"Previous days were such tough conditions, the ball was so heavy," said Sabalenka.

"The ball was flying like a rocket. I hope conditions are going to be the same till the end of the tournament."

Andreeva struggled to live with Sabalenka's power and was being pushed further back as the champion pulled off a deft drop shot winner to lead 5-1.

A delicious backhand pass clinched the set in just 24 minutes.

Sabalenka did not let up at the start of the second set, an early break giving her a 3-1 cushion.

Andreeva showed a fleeting glimpse of her talent when saving two break points in the next.

She then created three of her own, but all were saved and the Sabalenka juggernaut could not be stopped as she cruised to the finish line.

Sabalenka can complete a hat-trick of Australian Open consecutive wins.

It is a rare feat last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis and only matched by four other women in history, all legends of the sport.

Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles are the others to complete the treble.