Gauff advances as Osaka quits hurt

Coco Gauff booked a China Open quarter-final on Tuesday as opponent Naomi Osaka was forced to quit their match with a lower back injury.  

Gauff dropped the opening set against the four-time Grand Slam winner and bounced back to claim the second after coming from 4-3 down and winning the last three games before Osaka pulled the plug in Beijing.

“I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, I just knew that towards the end she could barely jump on her serve,” Gauff said, 

“I knew that it was something that, in the moment, was probably bad but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

After quitting, Osaka made her apologies to Gauff at the net: “I really saw it was hampering her movement a lot,” the American said.

“I was just trying to keep the ball in because I knew what was going on. But I didn’t expect her to retire at that moment, honestly.

“I think this is her first time winning three matches in a tournament [for a while]. So physically, you can do all the running you want but match-fit is different. Hopefully, she’ll be fine. I think she’s signed up for Wuhan (next week).”

Gauff now takes on Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva.