The Australian Open is always full of excitement. We’ve just reached the halfway mark at the first Grand Slam of the season and fans have already witnessed some major upsets and the rise of future stars of the game. But who is the favorite to win the Australian Open this year? The 2022 Australian Open champion, Ashleigh Barty, recently spoke to the ‘Tennis Channel’ and praised Coco Gauff but chose the defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka as the favorite to win this year’s tournament.

Barty said, “Yeah, it’s a wide-open tournament. I think purely from the bits and pieces that I’ve seen, I think Sabalenka is the one to beat. I mean, Aryna has so far swept through the draw relatively easily. She’s been confident, she’s been clear, and she’s been dominant.”

“And when she’s in that kind of form, it’s really hard to knock her off. I think she’s got the ability to blow anyone away and if she keeps going the way that she’s going, I think that she’s the one to beat.”

“I haven’t seen many of Coco’s matches. I know that she’s up today and … she’s just grown confident. She’s growing the experience. And it’s amazing to think she’s so young and has almost created this bank of experience that she can lean back on.”

Barty was also impressed by Linda Noskova’s performance against the world number one Iga Swiatek. She defeated Swiatek in the third round of the Australian Open Saturday by 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. Ash Barty praised her tactical game-play in the third set and her ability to hold her mettle against the no.1.

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Coco Gauff extends her winning run in 2024

The 19-year-old American had a stellar start to her 2024 season. She recently defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech by 6-1, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. It took only 63 minutes to book her place into the QF of the Australian Open. With her latest win, Gauff is currently on a 9-match winning streak in 2024 and also this win marked her 11 straight Grand Slam victory. 

“I want to see the Iron Claw tonight,” Gauff joked on court. Then she went on to thank the crowd for their incredible support, “It was an honor to play in front of you!”

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Gauff is the youngest woman to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2008. She will now take on Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk at the QF of the Australian Open. Can she extend her winning run to 10 and create a historic feat in Melbourne?

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