3 Reasons Why a Possible Coco Gauff vs Naomi Osaka Match at Australian Open Will Be Lop-Sided

The tennis community is buzzing as the fixtures for the first Grand Slam of the new season have been released. Naomi Osaka, who returned to competitive tennis with this season’s Brisbane International, will also be in action at the Australian Open. Adding more to fans’ excitement levels, the Japanese player is in the same quarter of the draw as the American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff.

Gauff will face off against Anna Karolína Schmiedlová in the opening round, while Osaka will start her campaign against Caroline Garcia. If both the Grand Slam winners manage to prevail in their initial round fixtures, the stage will set up for a thrilling fourth-round encounter between Gauff and Osaka. Even though they both have vast experience in major tournaments, a possible ‘Gauff vs. Osaka’ match at the Australian Open will be a lopsided game for three reasons.

Coco Gauff is coming to the Australian Open after recently enjoying a title-winning run

The American tennis prodigy previously concluded a phenomenal 2023 season, winning her first Grand Slam and WTA 1000 titles. Now it looks like Coco Gauff has carried her great on-court momentum from the previous season, as she recently marked a triumphant campaign at the ASB Classic.

The 19-year-old brushed aside some of the top guns, including Brenda Fruhvirtova, Varvara Gracheva, and Emma Navarro, to reach the finals in Auckland. In the championship match, Gauff later defeated the second-seeded Elina Svitolina with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, to clinch the WTA 250 title. Given her stellar performances ahead of the Australian Open, the world No. 3 will be the favorite in her possible matchup against Osaka.

Naomi Osaka just returned to the tour from a lengthy hiatus

The Japanese tennis player previously announced her pregnancy at the very start of the 2023 season as she moved away from competitive games. As she announced the delightful news, Naomi Osaka remained on the sidelines throughout the season and dropped out of the rankings. Now that she has embraced motherhood, the WTA superstar is back on the court, as she recently participated in this season’s Brisbane International.

Osaka started her campaign with a bang, winning her first-round match against her German opponent, Tamara Korpatsch, in straight sets. However, the 4-time singles Grand Slam champion was later knocked out after tasting a defeat at the hands of Karolína Plíšková, 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 in the second round. In light of her initial round defeat in Brisbane, Osaka doesn’t look like she has regained her best level on the court. Notably, in a possible matchup against Gauff, the former Australian Open champion will find it quite challenging to overcome her American colleague, who is in red-hot form.

Gauff and Osaka’s previous encounter at the Australian Open

Even though their H2H record is currently locked at 2-2, it was Gauff who previously came out on top against Osaka in their meeting in Melbourne. Back in 2020, the American tennis prodigy stunned the tennis realm by outclassing some of the big names like Venus Williams and Sorana Cîrstea in the initial rounds of the Australian Open.

In her third-round matchup, Gauff was later up against the third-seeded Japanese, Osaka, who was also a favorite to win the major tournament. However, the unseeded American, who was only 15 years old back then, pulled off a major upset by defeating the defending Australian Open in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

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Do you think that the tennis community will get to witness a fourth-round match between Gauff and Osaka at the Australian Open? If yes, then who do you think will prevail in the exciting encounter between two Grand Slam champions? Let us know in the comments section. 

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