Naomi Osaka produced a commanding performance to knock out the third-seeded Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in a highly anticipated fourth-round showdown between two former US Open champions.
After years of bitter disappointment at the year’s final tennis major, Osaka showed flashes of her old brilliance on Monday as she took control of the match from the start, while 2023 champion Gauff struggled with her forehand and serve.
The result carried Osaka into the Flushing Meadows quarterfinals for the first time in five years. She will next play Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova.
“The main thing I want to take away from this tournament is just smiling and having fun,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who triumphed in New York in 2018 and 2020, but failed to advance past the third round in her last three attempts.
“For me, honestly, I have the most fun when I play against the best players.”
Monday’s showdown marked the first time that the two fan favourites met in New York since their memorable 2019 tussle when the then-15-year-old Gauff lost to Osaka.
The fans, who had kept on chattering through the earlier match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, fell silent as the two began their battle, with Osaka breaking Gauff from the baseline in the first game in a superb first set.
Gauff has spent many months trying to rebuild her serve, and was let down by it yet again as she produced a double fault on set point, one of five across the match.
The mistakes began to pile up for the American, who handed Osaka another break point with an unforced error in the sixth game of the second set, and vented her frustration towards her box during the final game, telling her coaches: “Nothing’s working.”
The pair embraced briefly at the net, after Gauff bowed out with a shot into the net on match point and Osaka smiled in a subdued celebration.
“I’m a little sensitive. I don’t want to cry. I had so much fun out here,” said Osaka.
“A big thank you to my team. We’ve been through a lot. It hasn’t been easy but they have been by my side.”
Osaka’s comeback built on belief
Every time Osaka has reached the last eight of a major, she has gone on to hoist the trophy. She will be hoping to maintain that track record in New York.
She won the last of her four Grand Slam titles at the 2021 Australian Open, before withdrawing from Roland Garros to protect her mental wellbeing after disclosing her personal struggles with depression.
The Japanese player skipped Wimbledon, and then left the US Open in tears later that year after an unexpected third-round defeat, announcing that she would take a break from playing. She also took a maternity break for the duration of the 2023 season.
Having failed to progress beyond the third round at her first seven slams after her maternity break, she finally looked to have regained her mojo after reaching the Montreal final last month.
Her partnership with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski appears to be working, and Osaka said she never doubted she could get back to this stage in the majors.
“You have to imagine it, and then you have to believe it for it to actually come true,” she told reporters after showing off yet another bejewelled Labubu charm she had named “Althea Glitterson,” in honour of the late pioneer Gibson.
And, despite her struggles, Osaka said she never considered giving up the sport for good.
“To hang up my racket for me permanently would be a very scary thing,” she said. “It’s like breathing air to me.”
Swiatek cruises into quarters
A laser-focused Iga Swiatek barely broke a sweat as the former US Open champion methodically dismantled Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1, and booked her return to the quarterfinals in New York.
The 24-year-old’s crushing win on Louis Armstrong Stadium meant that she became the youngest woman to reach at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams in a single season since 18-year-old Maria Sharapova managed the feat in 2005.
Swiatek was typing away furiously on her phone as she waited for her on-court interview afterwards, and said she was sending a message to her coach, Wim Fissette.
“I asked him to book a practice court for 10 minutes, if possible,” the world number two said, before she explained what worked well in helping her reach her 13th major quarterfinal.
“I would say the intensity and focus. In the beginning, I felt like she played fast and the court is different. I wanted to find my rhythm afterwards, and I was in my bubble.
“I forced the ball to go in. I’m happy with the quality.”
The Polish second seed next faces Amanda Anisimova in a repeat of the Wimbledon final, which Swiatek won 6-0, 6-0.
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