Home » Cori Gauff discusses her victory over Naomi Osaka in San Jose.

When she won three straight match points, Cori Gauff said she was “not settled at all” and commended Naomi Osaka for her tenacity and toughness. Osaka was defeated 6-4, 6-4, by Gauff in the San Jose round of 16.

Gauff had three consecutive match points in the second set on Osaka’s serve with a 5-1 lead. Gauff lost out on three straight match points, but he did secure one more in the same match, which Osaka also saved.

Osaka got one break back in the eighth set and reduced the deficit to 3-5 after saving four match opportunities. Gauff faced three additional straight match points in the ninth game on Osaka’s serve, but the Japanese player saved to reduce the lead to 4-5.

Gauff was able to serve out the match just when it appeared Osaka might fully recover in the second set.

Gauff: Osaka easily could have quit, but she persisted.

Gauff stated, according to the WTA website, “At 5-1, 0-40, I was not at all settled.”

“Rarely does someone return from 0 to 40 twice, but Naomi has done so. That only demonstrates how determined she is to fight. She had the option of giving up, yet she persisted.” Osaka defeated Gauff in Cincinnati a year ago, winning all three sets.

The current head-to-head score between the two is 2-2. Gauff said, “I think I progressed in all aspects, and today showed it. “I anticipated that playing Naomi would be difficult. She possesses one of the strongest baseline games in the league, in my opinion.

When I play her, I am aware that if she wins the game, it will be in those baseline rallies when she will defeat me. I believe that today I actually stood my ground and outperformed her in a significant number of those rallies. That merely demonstrates how far I’ve come. I’ve spent a lot of time on the court over the last three weeks, and I’m delighted it’s starting to pay off.”