For a 17-year-old, Coco Gauff has already amassed a vast reservoir of wisdom.
Heading into the Western & Southern Open she was asked about her potential second-round opponent, Naomi Osaka.
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought about the match,” she answered readily, “because I still have to play the match in front of me. For me, I just try to stay in the moment, stay present. I guess I’ll start thinking about that match when I, hopefully, get through this first-round match.”
Read: Draws, dates, storylines, everything you need to know about Cincinnati 2021
Hope, apparently, didn’t have much to do with it. Gauff throttled Hsieh Su-Wei 6-1, 6-2. After racing out to a 5-0 lead, a four-hour rain delay ensued. Gauff was poised in the reset, converting her second match point with an ace down the T, her 10th of the match.
Go go, Coco! 👏 @CocoGauff defeats Hsieh 6-1, 6-2 and faces Naomi Osaka next.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/AcGYqGp4MJ
— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 17, 2021
Osaka, the World No.2, prefers to not know what’s coming. Nevertheless, on Monday she already knew who might be waiting for her in Wednesday’s highly anticipated match.
“I accidentally saw my draw, so I know how hard it’s going to be,” said Osaka, who had a first-round bye. “I know how tough the players are that are here.”
Read: Osaka pledges Cincinnati prize money to Haitian earthquake relief
She didn’t mention Gauff by name, but tennis fans have been circling this one since the draw came out. It’s a terrific matchup of young, gifted players. The head-to-head is 1-1, but Gauff administered the only loss Osaka (champion in 2019 and 2021) has suffered at the Australian Open in three years.
"I definitely did learn a lot from both matches, actually," Gauff said Tuesday. "For me, the second match I learned that I can perform well under the pressure, and that I do have a lot more fun on the court when I try not to focus on the expectations of other people and myself, whereas I didn't really find that I guess balance until that Australian Open match.
"Before it was hard for me to find that balance between the whole US Open and Australia, those months, which is trying to find the balance of, you know, trying to do what other people expect of me, but instead realizing I just have to focus on myself."
Osaka made headlines for briefly leaving her pre-tournament press conference but returned to discuss a pledge to donate her prize money to Haitian relief efforts following a devastating earthquake. Osaka’s father, Leonard Francois, was born in Haiti – and the winner’s share in Cincinnati is $255,220.
Read: Osaka reflects on Tokyo 2020, her hard-court preparation, and athlete mental health
Since beating Jennifer Brady in the final at Melbourne, it’s been a struggle for Osaka. After a quarterfinals appearance in Miami, she went 2-3 for the clay-court season, withdrew from Roland Garros and Wimbledon for personal reasons and, representing Japan, lost in the Round of 16 at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I have kind of been waiting for them for eight years almost, because I didn’t make it to the Rio one,” Osaka said. “I felt like everyone kept asking me about the Tokyo Olympics I guess every year from that point. So I feel very sad about how I did there, but also a little bit happy I didn’t lose in the first round.
Head to Head
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“Even the circumstances that it was held in, I was really glad to be able to experience all that, and lighting the torch and stuff like that, it was fun for me. I definitely think it will be like a really big memory for me.”
Gauff has put together a nice string of memories already, reaching the semifinals in Rome, winning Parma and advancing to her first career major quarterfinal at the French Open. After a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, she contracted COVID-19 and was forced to miss the Olympics. Last week, she got to the quarters in Montreal, losing to eventual champion Camila Giorgi.
“Physically, I feel great,” Gauff said. “I haven’t had any problems, no bad injuries, nothing. Knock on wood that I can keep that health going. Yeah, I feel like going into the US Open I feel great. I had a good week in Montreal.
“I’m hoping to have a good week here.”
Osaka, meanwhile, is searching for the big, buoyant game that brought her four of the past nine majors she’s played.
“I would say right now I feel pretty good,” she said. “I think that I’m really motivated.”
Other notable Wednesday matches:
No.1 Ashleigh Barty vs. Heather Watson: This was the first match postponed on Tuesday during the long rain delay. Barty won her second major singles title at Wimbledon, but was bounced in the first round at the Tokyo Olympics by Sara Sorribes Tormo. This is her first match on U.S. soil since successfully defending her title at the Miami Open in April.
No.3 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Paula Badosa: Fives are wild in this second-round match, as Sabalenka comes in with a WTA-leading, post-pandemic 55 match wins and Badosa is coming off a first-round victory over Petra Martic in which she saved five match points. This is their first meeting on tour.
No.4 Elina Svitolina vs. Angelique Kerber: It’s the newly minted bronze medal winner in Tokyo against the three-time Grand Slam singles champion, a first-round winner over the formidable Maria Sakkari. This will be the 15th career meeting between the two counter-punchers and first on a hard court since 2018.
No.7 Bianca Andreescu vs. Karolina Muchova: After a disappointing loss to Ons Jabeur in Montreal, Andreescu faces 2021 Australian Open semifinalist Muchova, a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner over Johanna Konta.
