As Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals on Monday, Naomi Osaka claimed a stunning victory at the US Open by defeating home favorite Coco Gauff in the final 16.
On the occasion of the Labor Day holiday in New York, the Japanese star defeated third seed Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in a highly anticipated but uneven fourth-round showdown between former US Open champions.
In the first game, Osaka broke in front of a frightened Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, and the result was a brutal display of unforced serve in a failed attempt to stop a misfiring Gauff.
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Osaka, who is preparing to play in a fifth Grand Slam, said, “This is my favorite court in the world and it means so much to me to be back today.”
At this stage of my career, Osaka remarked, “This is kind of uncharted territory.” Simply put, I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying myself.
The 27-year-old, a two-time US Open champion, is enjoying her most recent major success since 2021 when she won her second Australian Open championship.
Osaka, who returned to tennis last year after giving birth to her daughter in 2023, has endured a difficult climb back to the top of the game.
Osaka also defeated a 15-year-old Gauff in their first meeting in 2019 by beating her at the US Open. “I just really wanted to come out here and play,” said Osaka, who was in the stands two months after giving birth.
Gauff acknowledged that her efforts to change her faltering serve had had had a significant impact on her after a difficult first week.
She said, “I think emotionally how intense this week was, and I believe I just stepped in today and perhaps felt a little empty.”
In Wednesday’s quarter-finale, Osaka will face Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova. With a 6-3, 6-7 (0/14), 6-3 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, Mehrova will now face her third straight semi-finale at Flushing Meadows.
In just 81 minutes, reigning men’s champion Sinner completely wiped out Alexander Bublik, who had to start the night session 6-1, 6-1, and 6-1.
Bublik, who was the only player to defeat Sinner this year, did not drop serve all tournament but had already seen eight broken by the world number one.
He had a very difficult match the previous match, and I broke him early because he didn’t serve as well as he usually does. “Overall, I’m very happy,” he said.
After the defeat, Bublik grinned as he waved to Sinner at the net and said, “You’re so good, this is insane.”
Since Roger Federer won the final of his five successive titles in 2008, Sinner is attempting to become the first man to defend the US Open.
In order to reach his first US Open quarter-final, he advances to an all-Italian matchup with 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated unseeded Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-0, 6-1.
Swiatek is “in the zone.”
In just under an hour, Swiatek defeated Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1 to extend her Grand Slam winning streak to 11 matches as she fights for the title in the US Open.
She initially seemed to play quickly, but later on I felt trapped inside her and in the zone, Swiatek said.
In a repeat of the Wimbledon final, which Swiatek won 6-0, 6-0, Amanda Anisimova. Beatriz Haddad, the American, defeated the Brazilian 18th seed 6-0, 6-3.
Alex de Minaur, the eighth-seeded man, defeated Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.
De Minaur made it to the sixth Grand Slam quarter-final by taking eight breaks to put the world number 435 to the test. However, he has never made it past the final eight.
The Australian next faces Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in three years.
The best Grand Slam win for Auger-Aliassime came in 2021 when he advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open.
Returning to the final eight of New York feels “even better than the first time,” according to Auger-Aliassime, 25.
“I believe that when I was 21 years old, I was sort of on my way up.” It feels much better to come back for a second time to the quarter-finals here after a few setbacks, injuries, and struggles with confidence.
Source: Channels TV
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