Coco Gauff’s tumultuous US Open campaign came to a halt on Monday as the American tennis star was beaten 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour by a masterful Naomi Osaka – revealing afterwards that she ‘broke down’ following the end of an emotional tournament.
There had been tears, coaching changes and service issues of late for Gauff, and the latter of those problems persisted at times against a supremely confident Osaka at Arthur Ashe.
But Gauff also admitted that she was ‘maybe was a little bit empty’ after a trying couple of weeks.
‘After the match I was really disappointed. Kind of broke down to my team,’ she said. ‘Then hearing their perspectives and everything, it definitely is a lot of positive things.’
Gauff, who replaced coach Matt Daly with Gavin MacMillan just days before the tournament, said she ‘knew going in it was going to be a tough tournament for me.’ That proved to be the case through a tearful first two matches as she struggled badly with her serve.
And while she said she felt confident following her third-round win over Magdalena Frech, and felt ‘good on the court’ on Monday, Osaka certainly looked the player with more self-belief in their fourth round matchup.
Coco Gauff’s US Open came to an end as she was easily dispatched by Naomi Osaka
Osaka was totally in control and looked every bit of the four-time Grand Slam winner she is
Osaka embraced her ‘little sister’ after the short match concluded on Arthur Ashe
Gauff was broken on her first service game, lost the first set on a double fault and ultimately committed 33 unforced errors as the Japanese-born, four-time Slam winner’s form ultimately continued in the complete opposite direction to her’s. Five double faults for Gauff – certainly an improvement from other matches this tournament – didn’t help her cause either.
Osaka – who has been linked to Gauff since she consoled her then-15-year-old opponent six years ago – has referred to the younger player as a ‘little sister’ of hers, and there was certainly a big sibling energy brought forth in front of a stunned afternoon crowd.
For two players whose confidence has faltered at times, it was Osaka who showed off her Grand Slam pedigree and made a bit of a mockery of Gauff being the on-paper favorite.
Osaka never trailed in either set and dispatched one of the game’s best players with an astonishing brevity – one which won’t have been welcomed by fans amid the outrageous ticket prices for the match. The entire contest lasted just 64 minutes.
The 27-year-old, who is six years Gauff’s senior, was totally in control even as her first serve landed in less than half of the time.
It was no matter as she consistently got the better of Gauff from the baseline and hardly put a foot wrong, though her opponent made her life easier with her glut of unforced errors.
Osaka always looked likely to win the match when she led 5-2 in the second set, but Gauff even failed to defend a 40-15 lead on her own serve to extend the match. She’d go on to lose four straight points via unforced error in what was a sadly fitting finish.
Osaka has struggled for confidence at times in the past but looked every bit the four-time Slam winner that she is
It turned out to be a trying tournament for Gauff after a last-minute coaching change
‘I think at the end of the day it was just too much for her, mentally, emotionally,’ Chris Evert said on the ESPN broadcast.
Osaka is of course known for her vulnerable approach to the sport as well, and has been open in the past about the mental strain and pressure that she’s dealt with. It was only a few weeks ago that she shed tears after losing to Victoria Mboko in the Montreal final, which would have given her her first WTA 1000 title since 2019.
But during a week in which she’s cheerily showed off her various Labubus – one playfully named ‘Billie Jean Bling’ – she stood on the court after beating Gauff and beamed about just how much fun she had playing.
It wasn’t hard to tell as she comfortably beat Gauff to move into the last eight here for the first time since 2020.
