Naomi Osaka is awaiting the Coco Gauff showdown in positive spirits as the Japanese joked that continuing in Beijing where she stopped in 2019 is basically “fake it all until you make it.”
On Monday, the former world No. 1 ousted Katie Volynets 6-3 6-2 to progress into her third quarterfinal at the China Open. In the past, the 26-year-old was a semifinalist in 2018 before going a step further the following year and taking the title.
Since this year marks Osaka’s first appearance in China’s capital and she has won her opening three matches, she is currently on a nine-match winning streak. While she is basically continuing a winning streak that started five years ago, some have been using a bit to hype the Japanese in her return. And for the 2019 champion, hearing people bringing that up actually had a positive impact.
“I think it helps that when I first got here, people said that I was on a winning streak, even though it was from years ago. I find it’s kind of like faking it until you make it. But also I realized that I am playing better throughout the year,” the current world No. 73 said.
After struggling with her form during the grass and North American hard court swing, Osaka is finding her form in Beijing as she has dropped just one set en route to the quarterfinal. Against Volynets, she lost a total of five games and absolutely dominated the match from start to end.
“For me, I wanted to keep growing from my last match. I was just trying to be really aggressive from the beginning. … I felt like I really shouldn’t care too much about my unforced errors rather than just keeping her on the move,” she reflected.
Naomi Osaka© China Open/Instagram – Fair Use
How Osaka feels about facing Gauff?
While the 26-year-old was on maternity leave, the American accomplished some major things as she is now a Grand Slam champion and has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world. When they meet on Tuesday at the China Open, it will be their fifth meeting but also the first one since 2022 September. The head-to-head stands at 2-2.
If the Japanese wins, she will make her first semifinal since kicking off her post-pregnancy comeback. And Osaka is hoping she can beat the No. 4 seed and do it in a special way.
“I think it’s going to be a really cool test for me. She’s played really well this year. … I’m excited to play the match, and I know people are excited to watch the match,” the former world No. 1 said.
Do you remember an Osaka wish that Gauff made?
In March, fans were hoping to see the Japanese and the American take on each other in the Miami Open round-of-16. But while the 20-year-old did her part, the clash didn’t happen after the four-time Grand Slam champion lost to Caroline Garcia in the third round.
Following her win over Oceane Dodin, Gauff was asked to address Osaka coming to one of her 2023 US Open matches and the possibility of facing her in Miami. That’s when the current world No. 6 said she would really like to play against the 26-year-old again. The press conference took place before the former world No. 1 lost to Garcia.
“I knew that she came to the match after the match. I actually didn’t see her in the stands. Yeah, I think I expected to play her again when she came back on tour. Especially her not being seeded because her ranking dropped a little bit, you’re going to get her eventually. I really thought I was going to play her in Indian Wells. I’m hoping to play her here. I think we have great matches against each other. She’s definitely a champion of our sport. Regardless of her being gone, I still think she’s one of the best hard court players. It will be a real test for me,” Gauff said in March.
Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff© YouTube screenshot
Last September, the Japanese two-time US Open champion visited Flushing Meadows as a guest and following the American’s semifinal victory over Karolina Muchova. And watching the eventual champion provided the seven-time WTA champion with a boost of inspiration.
“Yeah, I do remember, like, when I was watching Coco’s match last time I was here, I felt very inspired to play again. At that time, I didn’t know at what level could I play… I was watching in the stands last year, and I promised myself, like, this is going to be the tournament where I do the best. Or hopefully here or Japan or during the Asian swing. That’s kind of where I put all my energy. I guess we’ll see what happens,” Osaka shared in her return to this year’s US Open.