Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Naomi Osaka of Japan hits to Coco Gauff of the USA in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Defending champion Naomi Osaka brought American teen Coco Gauff's captivating U.S. Open run to a swift end with a 6-3 6-0 win on Saturday to secure her spot in the fourth round.
World number one Osaka, who backed up last year's New York triumph with a win at the Australian Open but has since had an up-and-down season, simply overwhelmed her 15-year-old opponent in the marquee matchup under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.
Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA hits to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
"For me, I think this was the most focused I've been since Australia," Osaka said in an on-court interview, with Gauff standing beside her. "So, sorry for playing you with this type of mentality."
Gauff, who stunned the tennis world by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, committed seven double faults and was error prone throughout the match.
Osaka set the tone early in the most hyped match of the tournament so far as the 21-year-old Japanese consolidated an early break for a 3-0 lead.
Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Naiomi Osaka of Japan hits to Coco Gauff of the United States in a third round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
Gauff, in only her sixth Grand Slam match, then fired back-to-back aces to finally get on the board and from there the two exchanged breaks over the next four games before Osaka recovered from 0-30 to serve out the set.
Gauff, still unable to find any rhythm on her serve, made a pair of double faults en route to gifting Osaka a break to open the second set before the Japanese rallied back from 0-40 to consolidate for a 2-0 lead and then raced home from there.
At the end of the 65-minute match, Osaka approached an emotional Gauff at the side of the court, where the two embraced and spoke for a few minutes.
Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Coco Gauff of the United States hits to Naiomi Osaka of Japan in a third round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
"She told me that I did amazing and good luck and then she asked if I could do the on-court interview with her and I said no because I knew I would cry the whole time but she encouraged me to do it," said Gauff.
"It was amazing. She did amazing and I am going to learn a lot from this match."
Up next for Osaka will be Swiss 13th seed Belinda Bencic, who beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit earlier on Saturday.
Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Naomi Osaka of Japan serves to Coco Gauff of the USA in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Aug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA hits to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA serves to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA serves to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA serves to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Naiomi Osaka of Japan returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States in a third round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Coco Gauff of the USA after dropping a game to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts after a miss to Coco Gauff of the USA in the third round on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Naomi Osaka of Japan (left) consoles Coco Gauff of the USA after their third round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA;
Naomi Osaka of Japan (left) consoles Coco Gauff of the USA after their third round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY SportsAug 31, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Coco Gauff of the United States, left, and Naomi Osaka of Japan hug after their third-round match on day six of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
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