For the first time since winning the Australian Open in 2021, Naomi Osaka has made it to a major quarterfinal. The four-time Grand Slam winner and No. 23 seed took care of business against No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Osaka looked incredibly confident in the win, breaking Gauff multiple times and outplaying the young American across categories. The 27-year-old, who has had a couple of difficult years on the court, looked in fine form again: She only needed just over an hour to beat Gauff.
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Gauff, meanwhile, looked lost on the court, missing a lot of that life that led her to her first French Open title just three months ago. Even in the final moments of the match, Gauff seemed to lose her fight, losing the match point to Osaka off an unforced error.
This US Open has been resurgent for Osaka, who has dealt with mental and physical struggles over the past few years. Osaka took a year off in 2023 to give birth to her daughter; since then, she hasn’t made it past the third round at a Grand Slam as she returns to form.
After the match, Osaka, who referred to Gauff as a “little sister” on Saturday, called Gauff an “amazing role model” and said that she was really enjoying herself during the match.
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“I just had so much fun out here,” Osaka said. “I was in the stands like two months after I gave birth to my daughter watching Coco. I just really wanted an opportunity to come out here and play. This is my favorite court in the world and it means so much to me to be back here.”
Monday’s game was also a far cry from Osaka’s performance at the Canadian Open, when she fell to Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the final after a late-match collapse. Osaka’s frustration was visible as her mistakes doomed an early lead to let Mboko take the win.
On Monday, it was Gauff who was frustrated: The 21-year-old, who is dealing with a coaching shakeup and is trying to re-tool multiple parts of her game, seemed to lack confidence in her own play. Gauff had five double-faults, including on Osaka’s set point in the first set; she had 33 unforced errors, compared to Osaka’s 12.
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Osaka will now play the winner of the matchup between No. 27 Marta Kostyuk and No. 11 Karolína Muchová in the quarterfinal on Tuesday — and the odds of her making it even further are high. Osaka is known for riding momentum: She has never lost a Grand Slam after making it to the quarterfinals, and she thrives on the hard court, with two major titles apiece at the US Open and Australian Open.
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