Osaka prepares Gauff “battle” in Beijing, Sabalenka marches on

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Adds quotes from Osaka and Sabalenka

Naomi Osaka is prepared for a “fight” after meeting Coco Gauff in the China Open round of 16 on Monday, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on.

Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and will next face Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing.

World number two Sabalenka defeated Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th straight win and will play another American at No. 24 Madison Keys.

Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka said: “She’s obviously very athletic. My strongest qualities are aggressiveness and also my serve.”

“So it’s definitely going to be a battle – who wants to take control of the point first? And I think that will be me.”

Former number one Osaka is playing her first tournament under Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman best known as Serena Williams’ long-time former coach.

The 26-year-old Japanese won four major tournaments from 2018 to 2021 – the US Open and the Australian Open twice each.

She is also a former winner in Beijing and has said she feels at home on the Chinese capital’s hard courts.

Osaka has struggled for consistency since returning to tennis in January following the birth of her daughter Shai and is ranked 73rd in the world.

Her best results since birth were two quarter-final appearances.

2023 New York champion Gauff secured her place in the round of 16 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Britain’s Katie Boulter.

The 20-year-old American Gauff is ranked fourth.

She and Osaka have played four times before, winning twice each. Their last meeting took place in San Jose in 2022, when Gauff won 6-4, 6-4.

Current US Open champion Sabalenka was error-prone as she won her opening match in Beijing against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew in straight sets.

But the Belarusian was in top form from the start against Krueger, who was ranked 68th.

The 26-year-old feels like she’s not playing quite the best tennis of her career, but said: “Controlling my emotions, that’s the key.”

“Before it felt like something bad was going to happen if I didn’t win this game. “I’m going to die,” she declared.

“Nowadays I just work hard and try to improve every day. Every time I’m on the pitch I try to do my best. If you do your best but you didn’t win the game, “It’s okay.”

Sabalenka will have to stop a lot. Fourteen of her 16 titles have been won on hard courts and only Iga Swiatek has won more matches on tour this season.

Leader Swiatek is not in Beijing for “personal reasons”.