“It would be like Federer & Nadal” – Coco Gauff reveals relationship with Naomi Osaka based on respect
Teen star Coco Gauff will face off against Naomi Osaka in the last 16 of the Silicon Valley Classic and is relishing the chance to ‘fight really hard’ against the 4 time Slam champion
French Open finalist Coco Gauff played a ‘perfect match’ to seal her place in the next round of the WTA event where she will now meet world no.41 Naomi Osaka in a matchup she has compared to the rivalry shared by ATP legends Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
Gauff was speaking after her trouncing of Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-0, a performance so good she claimed it was one she would expect to manage just once every year.
“I don’t think I’ll play a match that perfect until years from now. It’s usually 1-2 matches in a season that you get that to happen.”
Buckle up folks 😮@CocoGauff | #MubadalaSVC pic.twitter.com/dzqSLEhwSi
— wta (@WTA) August 3, 2022
When asked about her clash with Osaka in the following round Gauff replied, “From a competitive standpoint it would be like Federer and Nadal. I mean emotion-wise. When we’re on court we’re going to fight really hard against each other but off the court we have nothing but respect for each other for what we do on and off the court.”
Gauff has faced Osaka 3 times on the WTA tour losing twice but scoring a famous victory at the Australian Open in 2020 when Osaka was the defending champion.
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