Gauff returns to the quarter-finals in Beijing after Osaka withdrew due to a back injury

BEIJING – World No. 6 Coco Gauff reached her consecutive quarterfinals at the China Open after Naomi Osaka withdrew due to injury. Osaka won the first set 6-3 and led with a break in the second set before Gauff came back from 4-3 down to win the last three games of the set before Osaka lost 3-6 due to a lower back injury, 6 eliminated -4.

Beijing: Results | Order of play | Pulls

“I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or her back, I just knew she could barely jump on her serve toward the end,” Gauff said, “so I knew it was something that was happening at the moment “It was probably bad,” but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

With the victory, Gauff prevailed in the direct duel and led Osaka 3-2. All five matches took place on hard courts.

Going into the game, Osaka was looking to record her fourth straight win for the first time since her comeback from maternity leave. After exchanging serves at the start of the game, Osaka extended her lead to 3-1 after two baseline errors from Gauff.

But after Osaka lost for the second time, she called the coach for a quick chat about the 3-2 change. Osaka looked cautious with her moves in the next two games, taking advantage of Gauff’s more error-prone play to secure a third break before seeing out the set.

Gauff broke out and built a 2-0 lead in the second set, but Osaka fought back coolly. With Gauff’s score at 3:3, 30:30, Osaka benefited from the American’s sixth double fault of the evening and took the lead 4:3. But Osaka made her first double fault of the game on break point, giving her lead back, and Gauff kept the equalizer and led 5-4.

While Osaka struggled to land her first serves, Gauff struck, defeating the four-time major champion to take the second set. Osaka immediately withdrew and greeted Gauff with a hug and an apology.

“Towards the end of the second set I really noticed it was really limiting her movement,” Gauff said. “Even if you saw the last point, I was just trying to keep the ball in because I knew what was going on. But to be honest, I didn’t expect her to give up at that moment.”

“I just told her that she should be proud of herself. It is not easy. I think it’s the first time in a while that she’s won three games in a tournament. So physically you can run as much as you want, but being fit for the game is different. Hopefully she’s okay.

Gauff was a semifinalist in her tournament debut last year and will next face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva for a place in her first semifinal since Berlin.

Gauff is playing her first tournament after adding Matt Daly to her team, and she has been vocal about her intention to use the end of the season to work on her serving and baseline aggression. Her commitment to the process meant going against her basic instincts, which led to more mistakes, but the 20-year-old has her sights firmly set on the future.

“At this point in the season I’m not focused on results at all,” Gauff said. “It’s one of those sacrifices. It’s great to be in the quarterfinals, I probably didn’t expect that to be honest. But it’s one of those things where you make sacrifices to get better in the long run. I look at this tournament as practice and everything is a plus.”