NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka has taken the first set against Coco Gauff by a 6-3 score in their much-anticipated matchup in the U.S. Open's fourth round on Monday.
Gauff made 16 unforced errors in that set, while a consistent and confident Osaka made just five.
Gauff, a 21-year-old from Florida, is the Grand Slam tournament's No. 3 seed. Osaka, a 27-year-old who was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. with her family at age 3, is the No. 23 seed.
They have won a combined three titles at Flushing Meadows.
Monday's winner will make it to this year's quarterfinals and face No. 11 Karolina Muchova or No. 27 Marta Kostyuk.
The match is being held in Arthur Ashe Stadium. It began after Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada beat Andrey Rublev of Russia there in the fourth round of the men’s bracket.
ESPN is showing the U.S. Open in the United States. Other countries’ broadcasters are listed here.
This is the sixth matchup between Gauff and Osaka as pros — and the second at Flushing Meadows.
Back in 2019, also in Ashe, Osaka defeated a 15-year-old Gauff in straight sets, then consoled the teary American afterward and invited her to speak to the spectators.
Gauff has won three of the four matches they have played against each other since then, so she led the head-to-head series 3-2 entering Monday.
Osaka owns four Grand Slam singles championships, including at the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020. The other two came at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.
Gauff, who has been working with a new coach on her serve to try to overcome double-faulting problems, has collected two major trophies in singles — at the U.S. Open in 2023 and the French Open this year — and one in doubles.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
