Naomi Osaka played a superb match against Coco Gauff at the 2024 China Open, but after losing the second set, the Japanese player retired from the match.
This was a fascinating matchup because of the quality that both players brought. Osaka and Gauff certainly delivered some great moments in this match, but unfortunately, the match ended on a very sad note.
The start of the match was very swift because the players immediately traded breaks. It was a bit typical for Gauff, as she tends to lose serve often but breaks more than any other player on Tour, leading in this statistic with 45.1% games won on her opponents' serve this year.
Still, Osaka was the more dominant player, which was expected as she's the more gifted attacker. Gauff was doing everything in her power to stay in the match, and after six games, it was 3-3.
Both lost their serve twice, but it was still tied at 3-3. From there, it was all about Osaka as she kept pushing and attacking, eventually breaking once more and winning the opening set 6-3.
The Japanese player is just too good of a player from the baseline to be troubled by the American, whose forehand can't match that of the former World No. 1. What was positive for Gauff in that opening set was serving on a decent level, certainly far better than she did at the US Open, which is what allowed her to stay in the match.
With a weak serving performance, the American would be a sitting duck in a matchup with Osaka, but also any other good hitter like Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek. After winning the opening set, the Japanese player kept pushing, hoping to keep dominating.
However, she was broken immediately, falling behind 0-2, but broke back immediately to make it 2-2. It was quite a chaotic few games in the first set as Gauff's serve regressed a bit as well.
Osaka always plays a high-risk, high-reward game, so sometimes it doesn't work out, and this was the case. The Japanese player then seemingly got the decisive break of serve at 3-3.
She went up 4-3, and it seemed like she could win the match, but then, out of nowhere, she started to struggle more and more, and she completely lost control of the match, allowing Gauff to fight back and win the set 6-4.
It was a swift 3-0 run from the American, who got herself back into the match. Osaka started to struggle, and very soon, it was apparent that she was dealing with a physical problem.
She had a back and ultimately, after losing that second set, opted to retire from the match. It was a very upsetting finish for Osaka, who was well on her way to winning the match.
Gauff, who reached the quarter-final, obviously wasn't happy about her opponent's retirement, but she was happy to reach the quarter-final at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing.
"I think it was a good matchup until this point. I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. I think no one wants to win a match like that, especially at one set-all. It's cool to be back in the quarter-finals here in Beijing. I'm just happy to be here in Beijing and play in front of you guys."
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