Naomi Osaka dumps out Coco Gauff to reach US Open quarter-finals

Naomi Osaka produced her biggest grand slam result for more than four years to knock out Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the US Open.

This was the most anticipated match of the tournament so far but it lasted only 64 minutes, with Osaka racing to a 6-3 6-2 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

While the Japanese star produced a strong performance, losing just six points on serve in the contest, this was a horror show from Gauff in front of her home fans, the American making 33 unforced errors and crashing out in the fourth round for the second year in a row.

Osaka has not been this far in New York for five years and the rest of the women’s field will now be on notice – the 27-year-old has never lost at a grand slam when she has reached the quarter-finals.

It was six years ago that a 15-year-old Gauff, with the eyes of the world on her following her breakthrough run to the fourth round of Wimbledon, was swatted aside by Osaka, leaving the teenager in tears on court.

There has been much water under the bridge for both since, with Gauff elevating herself to the top of the game and winning two grand slam titles while Osaka increased her tally to four before struggles with her mental health and time away to have her first child.

Finally, things appear to be clicking again for Osaka, who is back in the top 30 and had made it through to this stage at a slam for the first time since her most recent title at the Australian Open back in 2021.

Gauff won her second grand slam title at the French Open in June but has struggled since with serving problems, something she has been trying to address during the tournament with the help of biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan.

It has taken its toll on the 21-year-old, who was in tears during and after her second-round win over Donna Vekic.

She spoke of feeling lighter as she breezed past Magdalena Frech in round three but this was a high-stakes match for Gauff and the tension was evident from the start.

It was not so much the serve as her forehand, which historically has been a weakness, that was the problem, Gauff donating her first service game and unable to threaten Osaka’s amid a slew of errors.

Osaka looked calm and confident, her solidity off the ground too much for Gauff, who threw in two double faults to give away the first set.

The American headed off court for a bathroom break and the crowd tried to inspire her to a comeback in the second set but she could not change the momentum and her challenge quickly faded.

Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, extended her winning run at grand slams to 11 matches with a 6-3 6-1 demolition of 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The Wimbledon champion has had some tough matches in New York but this was a one-sided affair, with the Pole wrapping up victory in just 64 minutes.