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Louise Thomas
Editor
Coco Gauff helped carry Naomi Osaka’s bags off the court after the former World No 1 retired from their highly anticipated China Open quarter-final with a back injury.
Gauff had just levelled the match at one-set all when Osaka shook hands with her opponent, having received medical treatment earlier in the contest.
"It was a good match up until this point,” Gauff said. “I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. No one wants to win a match like this, especially one-set all.”
Lending a helping hand 💜@CocoGauff helps her opponent off the court after Naomi Osaka is forced to retire due to a lower back injury.
— wta (@WTA) October 1, 2024
Gauff advances to the #ChinaOpen quarterfinals with the score at 3-6, 6-4, RET. pic.twitter.com/ahm3pavauj
Osaka was facing Gauff for the first time since 2022 and looked to have the better of her younger opponent in the meeting of former US Open champions.
Osaka, who was playing her first tournament under Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, broke Gauff to lead 6-3 4-3.
But Gauff won the next three games to level the match before Osaka’s retirement. "Overall I tried my best,” Gauff admitted. “It wasn’t my best tennis."
Fourth seed Gauff will next face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva, who continued her brilliant run by defeating 10th seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 6-0.
Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai’s remarkable week also continued with the veteran, who came into the tournament having lost 24 singles matches in a row, making it four victories in succession with a 6-4 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech.
In the last eight she will take on 15th seed Paula Badosa, who upset US Open finalist Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-0.
Includes reporting from PA
