Naomi Osaka has a kind request for the US Open crowd ahead of her match against Coco Gauff as the Japanese tennis star politely asked to have some support despite playing against the biggest local star.
On Saturday, top-ranked American female tennis player Gauff beat Magdalena Frech to reach the US Open round-of-16. A few hours later, Osaka overcame Daria Kasatkina to also book a last-16 spot. As a result, fans will have a chance to watch two US Open champions go head-to-head on Monday.
As you probably know, Gauff enjoys massive support at Flushing Meadows – and there isn't anything surprising about that, considering that she is the face of American women's tennis.
“Can somebody come to the match and cheer for me? I mean it’s kind of tough playing an American here, but I hope you’ve adopted me as well," the 27-year-old Japanese asked the New York crowd ahead of her round-of-16 match.
'Patient' Osaka hopes to continue with her strong form
By beating Kasatkina, Osaka made her first Grand Slam second week as a mother.
“Since I’ve come back, I kind of wanted everything to happen really quickly. So I think it took—like I keep saying after Wimbledon—but for me to just completely not even think about results anymore and just try to focus on every match by itself. And I did good in Montreal and now we’re here. So I’m just really happy about that, definitely pleased. I think Thomas [Wiktorowski] has been really cool to work with too. So as a journey it’s not something that I really pictured, but I’m glad to be living it," the four-time Grand Slam champion explained.
Even before kicking off her post-pregnancy comeback, Osaka said her main goal was to win more Grand Slams and dedicate them to her daughter Shai. Now, the former world No. 1 is four wins away from achieving her goal. But first, she will have to successfully complete the Gauff challenge.
