By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka’s fourth-round U.S. Open showdown will serve as a welcome trip down memory lane for the two fan favourites, as they face off in a match made for prime time on Monday.
Organisers could not have scripted it better for American fans, with a must-watch meeting between two charismatic former champions on the U.S. Labor Day holiday, six years after their memorable first meeting at Flushing Meadows.
The two faced off in the 2019 third round, where legions of domestic fans showed up to watch the then-15-year-old Gauff under the lights in her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut, fresh off her stunning run to the Wimbledon round of 16.
The then-defending champion and world number one made easy work of Gauff 6-3 6-0, but quickly comforted the young American as she dissolved into tears by her bench and urged her to come address the crowd.
Osaka spent much of her own post-match interview watching the crowd cheer wildly for her opponent, a display of stunning good sportsmanship that endures for tennis fans today.
“I remember it was a tough moment for me because it was a hyped-up match. I remember looking back at it. I guess I put way too much pressure on myself,” said Gauff, who tamed early tournament nerves to get past Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-1 and into her fourth consecutive round of 16.
“It would be a cool kind of deja vu type of situation (playing again), but hopefully it will be a different result.”
Recalling the encounter, Osaka said on Saturday that it would be special to play Gauff again at Flushing Meadows.
“I remember just knowing that she was going to be a really great tennis player,” said the 23rd seed Osaka, who plays for Japan but spent much of her childhood nearby on Long Island and is counted among New York’s adopted daughters.
Their careers diverged from there: Osaka would go on to win her third and fourth majors at the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Australian Open – but has been unable to win another tournament since, struggling with her form.
She became a champion for mental health with her candid disclosures around anxiety and depression and has been on the upswing this season, reaching the Montreal final after battling her way back after giving birth in 2023.
“Sometimes I think about me before I had my pregnancy break… my age was pretty young when I was doing some of the stuff that I was doing,” said Osaka. “I have to give myself a lot of grace on that.”
A women’s finals record of 3.4 million viewers tuned into ESPN to watch Gauff lift the 2023 U.S. Open trophy, 1.1 million more than the audience that watched Novak Djokovic claim his 24th major title a day later, a reflection of how beloved she is.
Gauff arrived in New York as the third seed after picking up her second major at Roland Garros earlier this year – while Osaka repeatedly said she was happy just to be seeded at all.
“It’s been a real pleasure to see how she’s kind of navigated herself and been a role model to a lot of young people, even though she’s a young person herself,” said Osaka, who beat the 15th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-0 4-6 6-3 in the third round.
The seven-time major winner Venus Williams, often cited as an inspiration for both players, said their rematch was good for the sport.
“Everyone will be watching,” said Williams. “That’s what tennis needs.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Diane Craft)
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