Gauff hurt, but proud of achievement after Australian Open semi-final loss.

Once the pain of her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling Australian Open semi-final fades, Coco Gauff will look back on her last Grand Slam campaign as a teenager and see plenty of bright spots.

The American battled the powerful second seed for 102 minutes on Thursday but was unable to replicate her victory in last year's U.S. Open final and earn a shot at a second major title, losing 7-6(2) 6-4.

"Tough match for me tonight. Overall a positive tournament. I had chances in both sets, but she played better tonight," said Gauff. "I think it just came down to a couple of points, and that's tennis."

"At this stage in any tournament, but especially a Grand Slam, whether I lost 6-1 6-1, or like I did today, or in a third-set tiebreak, I still think it would hurt just as much."

Gauff felt she performed better in Thursday's match than she did at Flushing Meadows last September, when she won her first Grand Slam title in three sets.

The 19-year-old world number four made such an impression on the sport's biggest stage at such a young age that it's hard to believe her teenage years will end in March.

Although she was generally hard on herself, Gauff said she was proud of her accomplishments in the four and a half years since reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon at the age of 15.

"Overall, this stage of my life, it was obviously a successful time," she added.

"I did want to win a Slam as a teenager, and I did that. Obviously today I was hoping to get number two, or at least give myself a chance to get number two. It didn't happen, but I feel like I'm there. So hopefully I can go only upwards from here."

Most importantly, Gauff stated that she was still enjoying her tennis, even in defeat.

"I watched these matches growing up and watching Serena (Williams) and watching (Maria) Sharapova lose these matches," she said.

"When you're in it, it feels like the end of the world but then when you look at history, they didn't let one match define their career."

"I'm going to dwell on it tonight but ... the sun is going to rise tomorrow. Tomorrow, I don't know, I'm going to try to go to the movies or something, be proud of myself."

SportsLigue