Determined Coco through to Open 4th round

American Coco Vandeweghe is set for an Australian Open showdown with world No.1 Angelique Kerber after defeating Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in three sets.

Vandeweghe trailed 4-2 in the deciding set but stormed home on Friday to claim a 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over the 2014 semi-finalist in two hours and 22 minutes.

It is the first time Vandeweghe, a winner over Samantha Stosur in 2015, has advanced past the third round at Melbourne Park.

But the 25-year-old showed no signs of apprehension about the prospects of facing defending champion Kerber in the round of 16.

“It’s just another opponent in the way of my goal for this tournament,” she said.

“Any way I can get it done, I just want the result and to achieve my goal.

“Right now, it’s just recovery … and then scout a little bit if I do end up having the time to watch some of the match. But I think the first thing is just to recover and be as prepared as possible.”

Vandeweghe made a patchy start to the deciding set, cursing herself and throwing her racket after a series of errors handed Bouchard a 4-2 lead.

But she levelled the scores and showed plenty of spirit to save four break points during a 13-and-a-half minute ninth game which paved the way for her determined victory.

“I was able to turn it around, thankfully, by just saying ‘what’s the worst case – I’m going to lose?’,” she said.

“I was already down a break anyway so it really didn’t matter. Just to get back to my own game plan and play on my terms again was kind of the key thing I was focusing on.”

Bouchard was left to lament several missed opportunities to close out the match, saying it had been difficult to adjust to Vandeweghe’s hit-and-miss performance.

“It really sucks,” she said.

“Very disappointed, because I feel like I had so many chances, especially in that third set.

“You need to try and close out as many of these matches when you get those chances.”

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!