In the highly anticipated battle of past US Open champions, it was Naomi Osaka who showed the form that brought her to the top of the sport.
Osaka rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Coco Gauff on Monday in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
Osaka took control of the match from the jump, breaking Gauff in the opening game and not relinquishing the lead.
Osaka would then break again to finish off the set, while she did not face a break point on her serve the entire match.
“I was super locked-in,” she said in her on-court interview post-match. “I felt like everyone wanted to watch a really great match and I hope that’s what you got.”
Gauff’s serve was improved from her early-tournament struggles, but had 33 unforced errors compared to eight winners.
Osaka will now face the winner of Karolina Muchova-Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals.
It is Osaka’s first trip to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since winning the Australian Open in 2021.
“I mean, I’m a little sensitive and I don’t want to cry,” she told the crowd. “Honestly, I have so much fun out here. I was telling everyone, literally, I was out here in the stands two months after giving birth to my daughter and I was watching Coco. I just really wanted and opportunity to come out here and play. This is my favorite court in the world and it means so much to be back here.”
Osaka missed time for mental health breaks and the birth of her daughter, Shai, in 2023.
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