"From a competitive standpoint, it would be like Federer and Nadal; I mean, emotion-wise" - Coco Gauff on her matchup with Naomi Osaka
Coco Gauff likened her matchup with Naomi Osaka to that of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's relationship on and off the court.
Fans of both Federer and Nadal, or FeDal (a portmanteau of the Swiss and the Spaniard's surnames), have often lauded the respect and friendship between the two despite being the fiercest rivals on court.
Gauff will be locking horns with four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka in a blockbuster second-round encounter in San Jose, with the American teen aiming to even their head-to-head in their fourth career meeting.
"From a competitive standpoint, it would be like (Roger) Federer and (Rafael) Nadal. I mean, emotion-wise. When we're on court we're going to fight really hard against each other but off the court we have nothing but respect for each other for what we do on and off the court," said Coco Gauff in a tweet by WTA Insider.
Gauff: "From a competitive standpoint it would be like Federer and Nadal. I mean emotion-wise. When we're on court we're going to fight really hard against each other but off the court we have nothing but respect for each other for what we do on and off the court."
#MubadalaSVC https://t.co/3kGqBbXnGm
Gauff and Osaka first squared off in the third round of the US Open three years ago. Osaka, then the defending champion, dealt Gauff a bagel in the second set to secure a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Gauff got her revenge by ousting Osaka, then the reigning champ, from the 2020 Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win in the third round.
The 18-year-old appeared to score a repeat in their third meeting last year. She took the first set but Osaka recovered to regain the lead in their head-to-head with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph in Cincinnati.
In their fourth overall tussle and third on American hardcourts, Osaka will try to show why she is a two-time US Open champion as she tries to tame the teenager.
"I don't think I'll play a match that perfect until years from now" - Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff brushed off Anhelina Kalinina in just 55 minutes, only allowing her Ukrainian opponent a single game as she fashioned out a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
The American produced 29 winners against 14 unforced errors in the match. She won 89 percent of the points on her first serve and 64 percent on her second. She fended off a lone break point she faced while converting five of the seven break points she posted.
Gauff won 55 of the total points contested in the match, almost double her opponent's 29-point output.
"I don't think I'll play a match that perfect until years from now. It's usually one to two matches in a season that you get that to happen," said Coco Gauff in a tweet by WTA Insider.
Coco Gauff said she was fully in the zone tonight, played the perfect match. "I don't think I'll play a match that perfect until years from now. It's usually 1-2 matches in a season that you get that to happen." #MubadalaSVC twitter.com/WTA/status/155…
That win set her up for a second-round meeting with 24-year-old Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who Gauff says is a champion on and off the court and is the type of person one wants to play against.
"I played her a lot of times and she's obviously going to be a tough opponent. Either way, win or lose, I think that the match is going to be great. She's such a champion, on and off the court, so I guess those are the types of people that you want to play, and I look forward to playing those matches," said Gauff in an article on the WTA website.