Coco Gauff has been dumped out of the Australian Open in the quarter-finals, losing to Elina Svitolina in just 59 minutes. The reigining French Open champion was among the favourites for glory in Melbourne but looked a shadow of her usual self against her Ukrainian opponent. She ended up falling to a brutal 6-1 6-2 defeat, with the match not even lasting a full hour.

It took place amid the backdrop of a scorching heatwave at Melbourne Park, with temperatures reaching the mid-forties on Tuesday. The roof over Rod Laver Arena was closed for the match as tournament bosses took measures to protect players and fans. Gauff didn’t seem to cope well in the extreme heat and never managed to get going as Svitolina took full control early on.

She broke her American rival at the very first opportunity and kept her at bay throughout the opening set, with Gauff only winning one game to avoid the humiliation of a bagel.

Gauff looked increasingly frustrated as she tried in vain to claw her way back into the contest, at one point smacking herself on the forehead in anger.

Svitolina had the answers to everything thrown at her and Gauff was forced to accept a chastening defeat, having gone into the contest as the pre-match favourite.

Svitolina, who is through to the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time in her career, will return to the world’s top 10 as a result of her emphatic victory.

Speaking in her on-court interview, she said: “Yeah, not bad I would say! Very pleased with the tournament so far and of course it’s always been my dream to come back here after maternity leave and come back in the top 10. It’s always been my goal.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen last year. I stopped after September. When we were training in the off season I told my coach: ‘I want to come back in top 10 still’. This was my goal for this year.

“It means the world to me. Of course I try to push myself. I try to give myself this motivation to continue. Very pleased with the performance at this tournament in Australia. Overall it’s been a good trip for me. Really happy to go through to the semi-final.”

Gauff, meanwhile, was responsible for 26 unforced errors during the match and saw her performance branded ‘very disappointing’ by TNT Sports pundit Jamie Murray.

Fellow analyst Annabel Croft told BBC Radio 5 Live: “That was a total annihilation. Svitolina could not have played any better than she did.

“There was so much to admire in her game, great serving, great returning of serve and very mentally strong at the beginning of the match when there was all of the long exchanges.

“Gauff must be in such a fluster. Her serve disappeared, her forehand evaporated and she didn’t know how to stop the rot.”