Why first Naomi Osaka-Coco Gauff US Open showdown did not disappoint

6:03 pm | August 31, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

9:22 PM ET

D’Arcy MaineESPN

NEW YORK — In the most buzzed-about matchup thus far at the US Open, defending champion and world No. 1 Naomi Osaka took on 15-year-old tennis prodigy Coco Gauff in a third-round clash Saturday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the first meeting between the two, and while it wasn’t exactly the best match, it set the scene for what could be a tremendous rivalry and friendship for years to come.

With Rod Laver, Gayle King, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks among the notable fans in attendance, Osaka reminded the crowd why she’s the top-ranked player and a two-time Grand Slam champion, winning 6-3, 6-0 in just over an hour. (Watch replay of the match here.)

Osaka will next face Belinda Bencic, who advanced via walkover, in the fourth round on Monday (full coverage on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN App). Before we start thinking about that match, let’s look at the biggest takeaways from Saturday night’s win.

The crowd

There are loud, enthusiastic crowds and then there’s the one that showed up on Saturday night. It seemed like virtually every one of the 23,771 seats were filled, and to say they were into the action on the court would be an understatement.

As of Saturday morning, there wasn’t a ticket on the secondary market for the night session for less than $199. It was an excited audience, and it seemed they were largely behind Gauff — roars were heard every time she earned a point or closed out a game. When she won her first game of the night,the stadium erupted into “Let’s go, Coco, let’s go!”

While it was clear the collective loyalties lied with the young American, the fans were encouraging of Osaka as well and gave her a loud ovation at the end. It will be hard to imagine she won’t be the crowd favorite for every match she plays at the tournament going forward.

After the match, Osaka remarked on the atmosphere: “The energy tonight was crazy,” she said before laughing. “Even though it wasn’t for me.”

The fatigue

Gauff has had some tough (and impressive) matches this week. Unfortunately for her, it showed on Saturday. In addition to two hard-fought three-set singles matches, she is also is playing doubles with fellow American teen Caty McNally, and the two played their opener in the peak of the 88-degree afternoon heat on Friday.

Simply put, Gauff had logged a lot more minutes than Osaka entering Saturday’s clash. The 15-year-old spent 351 minutes — or just under six hours — on court this week compared to just 219 for the 21-year-old Osaka in two matches.

Gauff is accustomed to playing daily matches on the junior level but not against this level of competition, and certainly not against the No. 1 player in the world. In the second set in particular, she seemed to have few answers against Osaka and couldn’t keep up at times.

The nerves

Naomi Osaka encourages Coco Gauff to join her postmatch interview and both are emotional.

Gauff played on Centre Court at Wimbledon earlier this summer, but she had never played on Arthur Ashe before. There is likely nothing in the sport that can quite prepare you for the size, scope and noise of that ocurt. It is the biggest tennis stadium in the world, after all.

McNally, Gauff’s friend and doubles partner, said Ashe was “the most insane atmosphere” she had ever played on after her second-round match against Serena Williams, and Gauff would likely agree.

The rising American star notched 18 double faults in her previous two singles matches — the third-most among the women in the tournament — she added another seven in the third round. For comparison, Osaka had just one in the match. Gauff was only able to win two of five break points, where Osaka took six of seven.

The two players entered the clash with similar numbers in regards to their strong serves — Osaka had 10 aces in her first two matches, compared to Gauff’s nine. Both have blistering fast serve speeds — Gauff came in with the fifth-best mark on the tournament at 118 miles per hour, and Osaka not far behind with a 116. While Gauff had the fastest mark of the night at 119, it was Osaka that had five aces (versus just one for Gauff). Osaka had a 73 percent win percentage on her first serve, compared to an uncharacteristically low 43 percent for Gauff.

The sportsmanship (for the win!)

After all the hype, the match wasn’t all that compelling. What everyone will remember for YEARS to come was the incredible display of sportsmanship after the match. Gauff walked to her chair immediately following the loss, clearly about to cry, when Osaka walked over and gave her a huge hug and told her how well she played and understood what she was feeling. She then asked her to do the on-court interview with her, and it was one of the more heartwarming things you’ll ever see in sports as they traded compliments and shed more than a few tears.

In a decade when these two are battling for their latest Grand Slam title, we’ll still be watching this clip in adoration.