It may not have been the result that she wanted but Naomi Osaka wasn’t entirely disappointed with her exit from the Silicon Valley Classic on Thursday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion fell 6-4, 6-4, to America’s Coco Gauff in what was a tightly contested 89-minute encounter. Osaka was broken three times in the match but fought until the very end. Trailing by a set and 2-5, the Japanese player valiantly saved six match points to close the deficit to 5-4. However, Gauff maintained her cool to seal victory on her seventh attempt.
This week was the first time Osaka has played on the Tour since May after missing the grass swing due to a leg injury. Reflecting on her latest performance, the 24-year-old is confident that she is heading in the right direction despite losing.
“When I was playing the match just now I realized that I’ve been letting people call me mentally weak for so long that I forgot who I was,” wtatennis.com quoted Osaka as saying afterwards. “I realized that that’s something that I do. I lost the match today but I feel really confident in who I am. I feel like the pressure doesn’t beat me. I am the pressure. I’m really happy with that.”
Gauff has now levelled their head-to-head at 2-2 and it is her first win over Osaka since the 2019 Australian Open. She is currently at a ranking-high of No.11 in the world and has won 27 matches so far this season. At the French Open earlier this year she reached her first Grand Slam final before losing in straight sets to Iga Swiatek.
“I think I improved in all aspects and today showed it,” Gauff said. “I knew playing Naomi was going to be tough. I think she has one of the best baseline games in the game. When I play her I know that if she does win the match that’s where she’s going to get me, in those baseline rallies. I think today I really held my ground and winning a lot more of those rallies than she was. That just shows how much I’m improving. The last three weeks, so many hours on the court and I’m glad it’s coming together.”
The sixth seed will be hoping to continue her momentum into the next round when she plays Spain’s Paula Badosa who is bidding to reach her first Tour semi-final since April. The two are currently tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head with Gauff winning their most recent clash at the Doha Open earlier this year.
Sakkari stunned
Elsewhere in San Jose, top seed Maria Sakkari suffered a shock straight sets defeat to Shelby Rogers. The world No.3 only managed to win just four games during her 6-1, 6-3, loss. Rogers was unbroken throughout the match compared to Sakkari who dropped her serve four times.
“Maybe it’s her level of competitiveness or her fight that comes on the court, but she just makes me want to fight even harder,” Rogers said. “So I think we just bring the best out of each other and it’s always a fun match when we play.”
The American is yet to lose to Sakkari after beating her three times on the Tour since 2021. Her other wins were at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships and the 2022 Adelaide International.
“I think there’s definitely some matchups that just favour one player a little bit more than the other,” she said. “I thought I was able to use my forehand cross pretty well today, I served really well and put a lot of returns and play, which kept the pressure on her to do more.”
Also through to the quarter-finals is Aryna Sabalenka who battled her way past Caroline Dolehide 5-7, 6-1, 7-5. She will play Daria Kasatkina in the next round.
