New York: Simone Biles provided some inspiration to Coco Gauff during a tough match at the US Open on Thursday night. And after Gauff won, she was thrilled to get the chance to chat with the Olympics star.
Biles was in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands for Gauff’s 7-6(5) 6-2 victory over Donna Vekic in the second round. During her on-court interview, Gauff thanked Biles for being there and providing a boost — then delivered the message face-to-face.
Gauff, a 21-year-old from Florida who owns two Grand Slam titles, said the thought of Biles doing her job on a balance beam gave her confidence to know she could perform on a tennis court.
“She helped me pull it out,” said Gauff, who wiped away tears several times during and following the match. “It brought me a little bit of calm just knowing her story with all the things she went through mentally.”
Naomi Osaka is back in the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2021, the year after she won her second championship at Flushing Meadows. She’s playing rather well at the moment, too, under the guidance of a new coach. Just don’t expect Osaka to weigh in on whether she feels as if she is ready to make another deep run at the place.
“Honestly, I don’t really know. I don’t make it my business to know anymore. I kind of just leave it up in the air,” the 23rd-seeded Osaka said after eliminating Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in the second round in just 70 minutes Thursday. “For me, I realize that I’ve done everything that I could. I’ve trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens.”
Meanwhile, Tommy Paul and Nuno Borges played well into Friday morning in another post-midnight marathon classic match to win 7-6(6) 6-3 5-7 5-7 7-5. Paul eventually came out on top of the 17th-latest finish in tournament history, joining the history books as the second-latest finish in the second round. Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner both won — his victory was much simpler
than hers.