© Getty Images Sport – Carmen Mandato
Coco Gauff admitted in her Miami Open press conference that she would like to face Naomi Osaka next but then the Japanese lost her third-round match and the American’s hopes of meeting the four-time Grand Slam champion ended.
On Sunday, world No. 3 Gauff crushed qualifier Oceane Dodin 6-4 6-0 to reach the Miami round-of-16. After Gauff, the next on the court were Osaka and Caroline Garcia, with the winner getting a crack at the top-ranked American female tennis player in the round-of-16.
After ousting Dodin, Gauff was asked about Osaka coming to watch one of her US Open matches last year – two months after giving birth, the 26-year-old Japanese visited the US Open as a guest.
Answering the question, Gauff called Osaka “a champion” and highlighted she’d like to face her in Miami. Also, Gauff admitted that she was expecting to play Osaka in the Indian Wells round-of-16 two weeks ago but then the former world No. 1 lost to Elise Mertens.
“I knew that she came to the match after the match. I actually didn’t see her in the stands,” Gauff said.
“Yeah, I think I expected to play her again when she came back on tour. Especially her not being seeded because her ranking dropped a little bit, you’re going to get her eventually. I…
