Coco Gauff Advances to 2024 China Open Quarterfinals with Victory as Naomi Osaka Retires Due to Injury
Naomi Osaka retired, allowing Coco Gauff to advance to the 2024 China Open quarterfinals after a fierce two-set encounter that ended with a tie at one set apiece (3-6, 6-4).
Osaka made a good start but was unable to convert a set and break advantage, electing to retire from the match knotted at one set apiece due to a back ailment in Beijing.
At the 2024 China Open, under the lights, Coco Gauff defeated an injured Naomi Osaka in a hard-fought second set before the former world No. 1 was forced to quit with the score tied, 3-6, 6-4.
Osaka was hoping for the biggest victory of her return from maternity leave in her first tournament with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. However, she appeared unwell early on and, although leading a set and a break, Gauff proved to be too strong, forcing Osaka to retire after the second set on Diamond Court.
After assisting with Osaka’s luggage off the court, Gauff remarked, “It was a good match up until this point.” “I hope Naomi heals quickly. This kind of match is impossible to win, especially at one set all. All in all, I did my best. My tennis wasn’t at its finest. I’m not sure, it was simply one of those games when you give it your all every time.”
Osaka subsequently disclosed that she had a back ailment that started prior to the start of the game.
“I locked my back up during practice earlier and honestly wasn’t sure if I could even play but I just wanted to try, unfortunately things just got progressively worse during the match,” she posted to social media. “Totally worth it though lol.”
After parting ways with Brad Gilbert, the coach who helped her win her first WTA 500, WTA 1000, and Grand Slam titles in Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., and the US Open, Gauff traveled to China. However, the 20-year-old has had trouble with both her forehand and her serve. She let up 19 double faults against fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round, ending her Open title defense.
The former world No. 2 put up steadier performances in her China Open campaign, overcoming Clara Burel and No. 26 seed Katie Boulter to face Osaka, who was going through her own coaching change, for the first time since 2022. Daly is now working with Jean-Christophe Faurel in addition to her.
After taking more than a year off from competition to give birth to her daughter Shai, Osaka returned to the game with a fresh outlook and lofty goals. The four-time Grand Slam champion is placing a lot of her hopes on the US Open following close calls at the first three major tournaments.
“I’m sort of preparing myself for September,” she remarked at Roland Garros after forcing world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to a single point loss.
Even while Osaka defeated Jelena Ostapenko in two decisive sets to earn her first Top 10 victory in over four years in New York, her second-round loss to Karolina Muchova left her well short of the championship runs Osaka accomplished in 2018 and 2020, forcing the 26-year-old to go back to the drawing board.
She made a significant alteration to her coaching staff when she replaced Wim Fissette with Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ longtime coach. Osaka herself expressed doubt about this decision when they first started working together in September.
“I was unsure if he was an effective coach or if he trained Serena,” she said following her victory in the Beijing opening round.
After that, I had a conversation with him, worked on the court with him, and met him. He is unquestionably an excellent coach. That he’s, I suppose, taking on this project as well, makes me very happy.
For the second time since 2024 (Rome), Osaka has won three games in a row thanks to the project, and she is off to a good start against Gauff.
With their head-to-head record tied at 2-2, Osaka initiated play in the first set to take a 3-1 lead, but when she lost the break and needed a medical timeout at the next changeover, she displayed concerning symptoms of illness. After getting over their nervousness, Osaka, ranked number one, got back to work and broke once again. In less than forty minutes, they finished the set with nine winners to seven losers and six to 10 unforced mistakes.
Gauff attempted to swing the match early in the second set by breaking Osaka after a drawn second set, but she was unable to capitalize on four break points for a 3-0 lead and further break point opportunities in the following game to level the scores at two games apiece.
Gauff struggled more on serve out of frustration, and he made a mistimed double fault that gave Osaka a chance to lead by a set and a break. With great skill, Osaka forced the Gauff forehand to convert, putting herself two games away from victory.
As Osaka strayed wide off the backhand side, Gauff stormed through 12 of the next 15 games, sending the match into a final set. Osaka was eventually unable to proceed, forcing Gauff to go to the final eight, where she would take on Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva. There would be a decider.
Starodubtseva, who defeated No. 10 seed Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets to advance to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, is having a breakthrough week in Beijing.
