Tim Henman thought Coco Gauff seemed "confused" and too targeted on her new serve method, and that made it not possible for the American to play her greatest tennis towards Naomi Osaka.
In what was anticipated to be a spotlight of round-of-16 motion on the US Open shortly changed into a one-sided battle as Osaka managed the match from begin to end to finish a 6-3 6-2 win. The Japanese tennis star was spectacular, realizing all of her 4 break factors, all whereas not going through a single break level. On the opposite facet, the third-seeded residence participant was abysmal together with her degree, committing 33 unforced errors in simply over an hour of play.
Gauff, who employed a biomechanics coach to assist her repair her serve simply seven days earlier than the beginning of the US Open, had three aces and 5 double faults. Whereas the 21-year-old didn't have her double-fault quantity in double digits, that didn't assist a lot since she nonetheless didn't handle to do a lot together with her serve.
Henman: Gauff's confused, focusing a lot on her serve… She must decompress
Reflecting on the match on Sky Sports activities, Henman famous that Osaka seemed sharp and locked in proper out of the gate.
“When you concentrate on the opposite finish of the court docket with Gauff it simply appears to be like like she’s so confused on the market. It’s so hectic. She’s focusing a lot on her serve, as all of us are, once you’ve bought that kind of mindset, it’s very troublesome to play your greatest tennis, particularly towards a world-class participant who’s making life troublesome for you," the previous British participant added on Sky Sports activities.
“Gauff is such competitor, however you noticed on the finish of the match that she couldn’t wait to get off that court docket fast sufficient. We’ve seen the emotion on the court docket, in tears at instances. It’s been virtually traumatic at instances. She wants slightly little bit of time away from this atmosphere to decompress and ponder her subsequent transfer.”
In her post-match presser, Gauff mentioned her focus for the remainder of 2025 could be on "enhancements" and never the outcomes.
