Naomi Osaka will take on Coco Gauff in the 2nd round of the Silicon Valley Classic and everybody is talking about that matchup.
The reason is quite simple, it's a superb matchup between two players that are capable of playing some spectacular tennis. Gauff shined in two exhibition matches in Atlanta and she brought that intensity to San Jose as well thrashing Kalinina.
After the match, Gauff said:
"Today's match was great. I was glad to find out I was playing the night match. I love night sessions. ... This crowd was pretty energetic. It's a small stadium, but the sound is really loud, so I enjoyed it."
Osaka faced much more issues in her matchup as she needed the 3rd set but she was impressive in it winning 6-1 against Zheng. The Japanese player admitted that she has a lot of confidence in those types of situations and that it helped her:
"I have a lot of confidence in myself in third sets. I'm not sure if it's subconscious or not but I do remember thinking it's going to be hard for her to break me. Because I learned a lot from challenging that last ball in that game that I did get broken. I think that's one thing that I have above her is that I have a lot of experience. I've definitely played more matches than her, so it's going to be interesting to watch her grow."
They are both excited to face each other with both being complimentary to one another. Gauff said:
"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 type of people that you want to play, and I look forward to playing those matches."
Speaking of Gauff, Osaka said:
"What's always impressed me about Coco is her mentality. When I was her age, I would find myself getting frustrated and I would show it. I just think it's really cool how she's able to stay really neutral all the time. She's been on the tour for a while and I think people don't know that because of how young she is. She's improving every year, so I think there's a lot that she's learning and it's only a matter of time before she wins a [Grand] Slam. The last time we played in Cincy, I was just really tense there. ... I'm just looking to see what she's improved. When I go on the court, I know who I am, so I just want to see what she's going to bring."
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