Day 9 of the US Open brings marquee names, popcorn matches and… the completion of the round of 16. Here’s what we’ll be keeping tabs on.
Coco vs Naomi Again
Coco Gauff was just 15 when she first met Naomi Osaka in the third round at the 2019 US Open. She was defeated 6-3, 6-0, but the match wouldn’t be the story on that night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the post-match interaction would.
In a moment that instantly went viral, Osaka gave the mic to Gauff and let her address the American fans. Coco was in tears the whole time, and it was a beautiful moment that will forever be wrapped into the lore of our sport. “She’s been sweet to me so thank you for this,” Gauff told Osaka during the exchange, as Mary Joe Fernandez interviewed both women in front of the Ashe faithful.
Even at 15, Gauff had the wherewithal to know that the moment might be misconstrued by some, so she clarified.
“I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to take this moment away from her, because she really deserves it,” she said of Osaka, who was then the defending champion.
Osaka was tearing up as well, as she addressed Gauff’s parents.
“For me the fact that we both made it, and we’re both still working as hard as we can I think it’s incredible. And I think you guys are amazing, and I think Coco, you’re amazing.”
Six years later and so much has changed. Gauff is now a two-time champion, and Osaka is on the comeback trail after maternity leave (her daughter was bon in July of 2023) and slipping from the top of the sport due to mental health issues. Here in New York, Osaka is back in the second week of a major for the first time since she won her last Australian Open title in 2021. Gauff, meanwhile, has been up and down but mostly up. She won her second major title in Paris in June, but has had struggles with her serve and hired a new biomechanics expert just before the US Open to help shore that part of her game up.
She had a rough second round match in which she was visibly emotional on court, but came through it, and cruised easily in the third round to set up the pair’s sixth career meeting.
Gauff holds the 3-2 lifetime edge.
Sinner vs Bublik at Night
The first night-session clash of Sunday’s US Open features a Round of 16 showdown between two men brimming with confidence: Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik. Both arrive with streaks on the line. Top-seeded Sinner has been untouchable on hard courts at the majors, riding a 24-match winning streak in main draw contests that dates back to the start of 2024. Bublik, meanwhile, is bristling with belief after taking out Tommy Paul in five sets; he has now reeled off 11 consecutive victories overall. History favors Sinner, who leads their head-to-head 4-2, but the combustible Kazakh has claimed two of their last three encounters — both on the grass at Halle. Expect fireworks as Sinner’s surgical baseline game collides with Bublik’s improvisational flair under the Ashe lights.
Also note the Bublik is the only player remaining in either draw that has yet to drop serve at this year’s US Open. He has held in each of his 55 service games and saved all 12 break points he has faced.
USA vs Brazil, Late Night in Ashe
Arthur Ashe Stadium will host a compelling Round of 16 nightcap on Sunday night as No.8 seed Amanda Anisimova meets Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second of two night-session matches — a duel that could push deep past midnight, depending on how Sinner and Bublik get along. Anisimova, making her sixth main-draw appearance in New York, has broken new ground by reaching the last 16 for the first time. The 23-year-old American, a finalist at Wimbledon this summer, has now reached the second week at all four majors and owns an 11-match Slam winning streak against opponents ranked outside the Top 20. Full credit to the 24-year-old for bouncing back from a difficult double-bagel shellacking at the hands of Iga Swiatek in this year’s Wimbledon final.
Haddad Maia, who defeated Anisimova in 2023 in Adelaide, is bidding to back up her 2024 US Open quarterfinal run and make history as the first Brazilian woman to reach multiple QFs in New York. She has lost two of three to Anisimova in total.
It will be interesting to see if Brazil’ s fervent fan base can match the intensity of the American crowds as Labor Day weekend comes to a close in Flushing Meadows.
