The Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff blockbuster in Beijing has just finished in very shocking but also unfortunate circumstances as the Japanese tennis star abruptly retired from the match after the American sent their quarterfinal match into a third set.
Leading 6-3 4-3 and serving, the four-time Grand Slam champion appeared to be inching closer to sealing the biggest win since launching her post-pregnancy comeback. But then out of nowhere, the former world No. 1 started blasting unforced errors – and after the No. 4 seed claimed back-to-back breaks to overturn the deficit and win the second set – the 26-year-old went to her bench and announced to the umpire that she was retiring due to an injury.
While it wasn’t specified what the injury was, it looked like Osaka was dealing with some kind of back issues. Moments after her retirement, the 20-year-old offered to carry her bags.
Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff© X screenshot
Osaka had everything in her hands but then Gauff is the one in the Beijing semifinal
The first five games featured inconsistent tennis from both sides as the Japanese lost her serve in the very first game of the match – responded with back-to-back breaks to go 3-1 up – but then blew her break in the following game.
After four breaks were seen through the opening five games, the next two service games were held before Osaka claimed another break in the eighth game and sealed the opener in the following game.
Down by a set, Gauff seemed to have found some rhythm after starting the second set with an early 2-0 lead. But then, the No. 4 seed missed out on four game points in the third game and lost her serve again in the seventh game after firing a double fault on a break point.
Then as mentioned above, Osaka’s game basically shut down in the next three games and the American tennis star forced a decider moments before the former world No. 1 called it a day.
Now, Gauff is set to battle against qualifier world No. 115 Yulia Starodubtseva for a place in the Beijing final.