For the second Grand Slam in a row, Naomi Osaka and Cori “Coco” Gauff will meet in the third round. Four months on from Osaka’s routine 6-3 6-0 win at the US Open in New York, the pair will likely take to the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to do it all again.
Both players are tipped for greatness and this is still just the early stages of a rivalry that has the potential to be the focal point of the women’s game over the next decade.
Gauff has surged into the third round on her debut in Melbourne. Osaka, 22, has two Grand Slam titles to her name.
Gauff, 15, became the youngest Wimbledon qualifier in the Open Era before beating her idol and compatriot Venus Williams in the first round – something she’s also done in Melbourne this week – and has reached at least round three of every Slam she’s contested. Read more