"Like Federer and Nadal": Coco Gauff discusses rivalry with Naomi Osaka

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka are set to face each other for the fourth time tomorrow when the two meet in the second round of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic.

Gauff cruised to a comfortable 6-1, 6-0 win over Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the first round, while Osaka progressed past Qinwen Zheng of China after a three-set match.

There is a strong mutual respect between the two tennis stars and Gauff has compared their competitiveness to that of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The 19-year-old rising star revealed she and Osaka are very competitive when they meet on the court but off it, they hugely value each other.

“From a competitive standpoint it would be like Federer and Nadal. I mean emotion-wise,” Gauff told WTA Insider. “When we’re on court, we’re going to fight really hard against each other but off the court we have nothing but respect for each other for what we do on and off the court.”

Federer and Nadal have one of the most famous on-court rivalries of all-time but they are also good friends outside of tennis. The iconic duo have played each other 40 times, also mostly on hard court surfaces.

Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who famously beat Serena Williams at the US Open in 2018 to win her first major tournament title. Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final earlier this year at the French Open but lost to world number one and reigning champion Iga Swiatek, who was unbeaten in 35 matches.

From the previous three meetings between these two players, Osaka holds a 2-1 lead over Gauff.

The first time they were drawn against each other was back in 2019 at the US Open. Osaka won comfortably in straight sets to reach the fourth round and made headlines after comforting an emotional Gauff afterwards.

Howe