Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka are both heading to the third round of the US Open and are on course to face each other in a potential superstar matchup later in the tournament.
In a battle that tested her resolve, Gauff’s new serve propelled her to a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Donna Vekić Thursday.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first set to Vekić, Gauff powered back to take the next four games in a row. When Vekić broke Gauff leading to a 4-4 tie, Gauff was overcome with emotions as she sat on the bench with a towel over her face in tears.
Eventually, Gauff settled in and defeated Vekić in straight sets.
Following the match, Gauff teared up again as she expressed her gratitude to the fans for supporting her.
“Honestly, today was a tough match for me, but I’m just happy that I was able to manage,” Gauff said. “It’s been a rough couple weeks, but I’m just happy to be back on this court. You guys bring me so much joy.
“I’ve had some tough moments on this court and you guys pull me through each time,” she continued. “That first set was tough for me, but you guys kept cheering for me.”
Next up for Gauff is Poland’s Magdalena Fręch who she’ll play on Saturday.
Unlike Gauff, Osaka cruised in her victory over Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in just 70 minutes on Thursday. She advances to the third round of the US Open for the first time since 2021, and is looking more and more like the four-time Grand Slam winner that she is. She’s won 10 of her last 13 matches with a new strategy of controlled aggression and an improved return game that has contributed to her success.
Following her victory, Osaka spoke about the potential of her making another deep run in the tournament.
“Honestly, I don’t really know. I don’t make it my business to know anymore. I kind of just leave it up in the air,” Osaka explained. “For me, I realize that I’ve done everything that I could. I’ve trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens.”
She also spoke about the impact of her new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, who formerly coached Iga Swiatek’s team.
“Honestly, I didn’t know him, I thought he was very scary, because he’s very tall and he didn’t smile,” she said. “Now that we’re working together, I see that he smiles often. He has a very friendly smile, and it’s very nice. That’s my little fun fact about Tomasz.”
Osaka also shared her thoughts on the heated exchange between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko.
“I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport,” Osaka told reporters. “And granted, I know Taylor and I know how hard she’s worked and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that.”
The No. 23-seeded Osaka will face the winner of the later match between No. 15 Daria Kasatkina and Kamilla Rakhimova on Saturday.
AloJapan.com