Coco Gauff carried forward her dominant style of play from the first round against Anhelina Kalinina to beat Naomi Osaka in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic. While Ukraine's Kalinina managed to win just one game against Gauff, Osaka lost 6-4, 6-4, putting up quite an impressive fight.
Gauff enjoyed her thrilling win and took to social media to retweet a video shared by Tennis Channel.
"Insane vibes tonight," Gauff wrote.
The American prodigy fully utilized her big serve as she won 86% of the points on her first serve. She broke the 24-year-old Japanese star once in the first set and found herself in a commanding position in the second set as the scoreboard read 5-1 in her favor.
That's when former World No. 1 Osaka shifted gears and saved four match points after trailing 0-40 in the seventh game of the second set. The 41st-ranked player broke Gauff in the eighth game and saved three more match points in the ninth before the American closed out the match.
After the match, Gauff reflected on Osaka's fight to save a total of seven match points and showered praise on the four-time Grand Slam champion.
"At 5-1, 0-40 I was not settled at all. It's very rare that someone comes back from 0-40 twice but it's Naomi. That just shows how much of a fight she has. She could have easily thrown in the towel but she didn't," Gauff said.
This was the fourth time that the two players faced each other. Their head-to-head now stands at 2-2.
A fan, who prepared and brought a special signboard, was in luck as he caught Gauff's attention. The youngster tossed a ball towards him after the match ended to acknowledge his effort. The signboard that he made for Osaka and Gauff read:
"Thanks for being you."
The French Open finalist even shared a photo on social media, expressing her admiration for the fan.
"Such a beautiful sign," Gauff wrote.
Coco Gauff to take on Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals
Coco Gauff will face Spain's Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals of the Silicon Valley Classic. The Spaniard received a bye in the first round and defeated Elizabeth Mandlik in three sets in their round-of-16 clash.
This will be the third meeting between the World No. 4 and Gauff. While Badosa defeated Gauff in straight sets at the 2021 Indian Wells Open, the American returned the favor earlier this year at the Qatar Open.
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