I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. Nobody wants to win a match like this, especially at one set all.
Though she indeed scored her first Top 10 win in over four years in New York—defeating Jelena Ostapenko in two emphatic sets—a second-round exit to Karolina Muchova fell far short of the title runs Osaka achieved in 2018 and 2020, and sent the 26-year-old back to the proverbial drawing board.
She made a big change in her coaching team, swapping out Wim Fissette for Mouratoglou, longtime coach of Serena Williams—a move Osaka herself second-guessed as they began their partnership in September.
“I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena,” she admitted after her opening-round win in Beijing.
“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach. I’m really glad that he’s, I guess, taking this project on, as well.”
The project has yielded immediate success for Osaka, helping her win three matches in one week for only the second time in 2024 (Rome) and make a strong start against Gauff.
Tied 2-2 in their head-to-head, Osaka made the first move in the opening set to take a 3-1 lead, but showed worrying signs of illness when she lost the break and took a medical timeout during the subsequent changeover. Shaking off the discomfort, the unseeded Osaka settled in and broke again, serving out the set in just under 40 minutes with more winners (nine to seven) and fewer unforced errors (six to ten).
Gauff looked to turn the tide early in the second set, breaking Osaka behind a long second game, but failed to convert four chances for a 3-0 lead and subsequent chances to break in the next game to find herself even at two games apiece.
Frustration led to more struggles on serve for Gauff, who threw in an ill-timed double fault to hand Osaka a chance for a set and a break lead. Osaka gamely pressured the Gauff forehand to convert and put herself two games from the finish line.
On the brink of defeat, Gauff raced through 12 of the next 15 points, forcing a final set as Osaka erred wide off the backhand side. With a decider to be played, Osaka was ultimately unable to continue and Gauff was put through to the last eight, where she will face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Starodubtseva is enjoying a breakthrough week in Beijing, dismantling No. 10 seed Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
