Coco Gauff sends message to Naomi Osaka after she retired injured from their China Open match…see more

The pair’s China Open round of 16 tie was their first clash since 2022 and it did not disappoint.

Osaka and Gauff threw everything they had at each other as they battled for a place in the quarter-finals in Beijing.

But the four-time Grand Slam champion claimed three of the next four games to win the set as Gauff continued to make errors.

The second set was closely fought and Gauff opened up a 2-0 lead, but Osaka fought her way back and broke the World number six’s serve to go up 4-3.

But Gauff would not be denied as Osaka struck her first double fault of the match on break point to hand the advantage back and she lost two games as the 20-year-old levelled the match.

This was all Osaka could manage as she retired from the match with a lower back injury and Gauff advanced to the quarter-finals.