Osaka tugs at heartstrings as she consoles crushed Gauff on court
After a disputatious first week at the US Open, Arthur Ashe Stadium took on a very different mood on Saturday night. An intriguing battle between world No1 Naomi Osaka and 15-year-old Coco Gauff ended in touching scenes as Osaka consoled her devastated opponent.
It is a sign of Gauff ’s potential and high expectations that she felt so crushed by a 6-3, 6-0 defeat at the hands of the defending champion. In fact, the first set had been highly competitive, and kept the fans – who filled every one of Ashe’s 23,771 seats – screaming in excitement throughout.
But Osaka admitted afterwards that she had been more focused for this contest than any other since she won the Australian Open in January. She gradually exposed the creaky parts of Gauff’s developing game – especially a second serve that missed its target almost a third of the time.
Then, as the pair shook hands, Osaka made an unusual decision. She suggested to Gauff – who was already tearful – that they should perform the on-court interview together, rather than taking the spotlight herself as convention suggests.
This was a hugely popular decision. One reason why there is such empathy between the pair is that they both grew up training on public courts in Delray Beach, Florida. “I was around the later teenage years,” Osaka explained later. “I feel like we would get there around the same time, maybe like 8am or something.
“But she would train by herself, then she would train with other people. That was the crazy part to me. She was, like, 10.”
Osaka became choked up when she turned to Gauff ’s parents in the stands and said: “You guys raised an amazing player. For me, the fact both of us made it is incredible.”