Former world No 1 Osaka started the 2024 season outside the top 800 in the rankings after missing the entire 2023 season as she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Shai.
She didn’t set the world alight on her return to action in January, but she has continued to put in the hard yards and she is starting to reap the rewards.
The 26-year-old has followed up her three-set win over 21st seed Yuli Putintseva with a 6-3, 6-2 win over world No 60th Katie Volynets.
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Having kicked off the WTA 1000 event at No 73, Osaka is set to jump to No 58 after the tournament and there could be another surge if she gets past Gauff.
“For me, I wanted to keep growing from my last match,” the four-time Grand Slam winner told the official WTA Tour website. “I was just trying to be really aggressive from the beginning. …I felt like I really shouldn’t care too much about my unforced errors rather than just keeping her on the move.”
Fourth seed Gauff reached the last 16 with a two-set defeat of Katie Boulter and Osaka highlighted her rival’s big strength.
“She’s very athletic obviously. For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,” the Japanese player said.
“So it’s definitely going to be a battle – who wants to take control of the point first? And I think it’s going to be me.”
She added: “I think it’s going to be a really cool test for me. She’s played really well this year. … I’m excited to play the match, and I know people are excited to watch the match.”
World No 2 Aryna Sabalanka is also safely into the fourth round after she defeated Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive win.
The three-time Grand Slam winner won the Cincinnati Open and US Open ahead of the Asian swing and will next face Madison Keys.
With world No 1 Iga Swiatek skipping the China Open, Sabalenka’s latest win has helped her to reduce the Pole’s lead at the top of the WTA Rankings to 1,164 points. If she wins the title, then the lead will be just over 200 points.
