Naomi Osaka has rediscovered the art of winning and the joy of playing tennis. That makes her a live contender for the U.S. Open on her favorite hard courts.
Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff deserved their own ring walks as they came out to do battle in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Monday. Osaka was the defending champion and Gauff the rising child prodigy when they first met on Arthur Ashe six years ago. Their story reels have evolved to the backdrop of external noise and big bold branding. These two transcend tennis.
They both sing their own life song to the next generation, reaching way beyond the 25,000 crowd that didn’t know who to shout for. The result on court was a repeat dose of one-way traffic. The Japanese dominated as if it was 2019 all over again.
Osaka suddenly has the buzz of the big game hunter who won four Grand Slams out of four. She smiled and breezed through the ups and occasional downs while Gauff was fraught with the worry that comes with a reboot of technique. Osaka was travelling light on her feet as her opponent looked like she had excess baggage all week in NYC.
It wasn’t so long ago that the two-time U.S. and Australian Open winner admitted her struggles with anxiety, depression and mental health issues. Sport was the easy bit, but there was no pushing past other demons as she dropped from the scene after the 2021 Melbourne victory over Jennifer Brady, her last big trophy and dominant performance.
