Naomi Osaka turned back the clock on Monday in New York, producing the cleanest big‑stage performance of her comeback from maternity leave to overwhelm Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in a blockbuster fourth-round meeting inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
In front of a packed 23,771-seat arena, the two crossover stars – who between them own three of the past seven US Open championships – reprised a rivalry that began with their famous encounter here in 2019. This time there were no tears, no consolations, only the sight of a four‑times major champion dictating terms again on the sport’s biggest stage.
Gauff, 21 and seeded third, is the same age Osaka was when she broke the teenager’s heart six years ago on the same court. Then, Osaka had comforted the 15-year-old wildcard in a moment that went viral. On Monday the generosity stopped at the baseline. Osaka dominated from the first ball, ripping returns and taking control of rallies before the crowd could rouse their favourite. She breezed through her opening service games with the authority that once lifted her to the summit of the sport, winning 16 of her first 18 service points, and her confident body language stood in stark contrast to the brooding, stressed figure she has sometimes appeared since her return.
Gauff’s serving woes, the recurring theme of her summer, surfaced immediately. In her opening service game she fell behind 15-40, hitting a routine forehand into the net to concede the break, and never quite recovered. She served a double fault three times in the opening set, the last on set point to hand it away after only 31 minutes.
By then she had sprayed 16 unforced errors, 11 of them off a forehand that was in open revolt. The Labor Day crowd, eager to lift her, swelled behind her at every pressure point, but their encouragement could not dispel the nervous energy. Osaka looked liberated, striding confidently to her chair with a one-set lead, while Gauff disappeared into the tunnel for a bathroom break.
“I felt it was the best I served all tournament,” Gauff said. “A lot of aces. Yeah, there were some doubles, but I thought that was a good performance from me serving. Off the ground I just made way too many mistakes.”
‘It’s disappointing for sure, but it is a step in the right direction,’ said Coco Gauff after defeat by Naomi Osaka. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
The troubles on serve have been simmering for months. After winning a second grand slam at Roland Garros in June, Gauff endured a turbulent summer of double faults and early exits, including a first-round defeat at Wimbledon that underscored the fragility of her delivery. She arrived in New York with a reshuffled team and a newly hired biomechanics specialist, Gavin MacMillan, who helped Aryna Sabalenka to turn her own serve from liability into a potent weapon en route to three grand slam titles and the world No 1 ranking.
Early rounds suggested the transition was uneven – a grinding three-setter against Ajla Tomljanovic, then tears in her second-round escape against Donna Vekic – before she steadied with a better display on Saturday in a straight-sets win against Magdalena Frech. She had spoken of embracing a long-term process rather than chasing a quick fix, but under the Ashe sun there was little sign of the assured server who had appeared only in flashes.
The second set followed a similar pattern. Osaka, serving at 2-2, fell behind on serve for the first time all afternoon but rattled off four straight points to hold. In the next game Gauff opened with a fifth double fault, then unravelled in a flurry of errors off both wings to gift Osaka another break. From there the match was all but a handshake away. Osaka pounded through the closing games without fuss, sealing her progress after just 64 minutes when Gauff dumped a forehand into the net for her 33rd unforced error.
The statistics reflected Osaka’s clarity of purpose. She landed only 42% of first serves but won 32 of 38 points on her racket, including 94% of first-serve points. She finished with 10 winners to 12 unforced errors, content to sit back as Gauff’s erratic play kept rallies short and prevented her famed speed from becoming a factor.
For Gauff, the defeat was a sobering comedown after an uneven but promising opening week. She had hoped a remodelled service motion would hold under pressure, but five double faults and more than four times as many unforced errors (33) as winners (eight) told the story.
“It’s disappointing for sure, but it is a step in the right direction,” she said. “If I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out the first round.” She admitted the past three months had taken a toll. “It’s been a tough post-French Open for me. I don’t know, I feel like I put so much pressure on myself at 21.”
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Osaka, in contrast, gave the appearance of a contender again. Seeded 23rd after reaching the Montreal final last month, she has now won 10 of her past 11 matches and appears to be gathering momentum with each week. This was her 14th career win against a top-10 opponent and the third since launching her comeback last year in Brisbane.
Naomi Osaka (left) and Coco Gauff embrace after their fourth-round match. Photograph: Brian Hirschfeld/EPA
Every time she has reached a grand slam quarter-final she has gone on to lift the trophy – 12 wins from 12 matches at majors in the last eight or beyond – a curious statistic that now hovers over the draw. She will face Karolina Muchova in the last eight, and on this evidence she will be no one’s idea of an underdog.
Her elation was evident in the on‑court interview. “I honestly just had so much fun out here,” she said. “I was in the stands two months after I gave birth to my daughter watching Coco, and I just really wanted the opportunity to come out here and play again. This is my favourite court in the world and it means so much for me to be back here.”
Asked when she started believing again, she pointed to Montreal. “I had played a match there where I had to save two match points. Ever since then I thought to myself anything’s possible. You just have to keep trying and keep a smile on your face.” She added: “I’m a little sensitive and I don’t want to cry, but I want to say thank you to my team. I looked up to Coco a lot – the way she carries herself is really special – and it means a lot to share the court with her again.”
Whatever comes next, Monday felt like a landmark. One of only two mothers in the last 16 alongside Taylor Townsend, Osaka has spoken about rediscovering joy in her tennis. Here she found it in real time, grinning after big points and basking in the Ashe ovation.
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