Osaka 2.0: A resurgence gathering momentum

The four-time Grand Slam winner is ina happy place, beating Coco Gauff to enter the US Open quarters

- Shahid Judge

Coco Gauff walked back to the baseline, shoulders drooped, face wrinkled in agony. “Nothing's working,” she mouthed to her player's box. At the other end of the court, Naomi Osaka took a few shadow swings, a bright smile on her face.

The stark contrast in their body language told the story of their fourth round US Open match.

The first time they met was at the 2019 US Open. Osaka was the defending champion and Gauff a 15-year-old destined for big things. Osaka won, but in a groundbreaking gesture, she asked her young opponent to stay behind and address the crowd rather than walk off alone through the tunnel.

On Monday night, as Osaka handed Gauff a 6-3, 6-2 defeat, there was no stopping the 21-year-old American, who packed her bags and made a quick exit, breaking into tears as she stepped into the tunnel.

The win took Osaka to the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam for the first time since she won the 2021 Australian Open.

“I was super locked in. I just had so much fun out here,” Osaka, 27, said after the match. “I just really wanted an opportunity to come out here and play (it was the first time she was playing at the Arthur Ashe Stadium this year). This is my favourite court in the world, and it means so much to me to be back here.”