Naomi Osaka blew past Coco Gauff to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday in a lopsided battle of former champions.
Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka dominated American third seed Gauff on her way to wrapping up a 6-3, 6-2 victory in one hour four minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court.
The eagerly anticipated showdown between 2018 and 2020 US Open champion Osaka and 2023 title-winner Gauff never quite lived up to the billing.
Gauff, who changed her coaching team on the eve of the tournament in an effort to improve her serving, once again struggled on serve.
She was broken four times by Osaka, who looked far more assured throughout as she coasted into her first Grand Slam quarter-final in four years.
"I'm a little sensitive and I don't want to cry," said Osaka, who also beat a 15-year-old Gauff at the US Open in their first meeting in 2019.
"I had so much fun out here. This is my favourite court in the world and it means so much to me to be back here."
Osaka's current US Open campaign is her best performance in a Grand Slam singles tournament since she returned to tennis last year following the birth of her daughter in 2023.
Osaka conceded just two points off her serve in the entire opening set, which she took with her second break of Gauff, who double-faulted on set point.
The second set was a similar story, with Osaka giving up only four points on serve while pressuring Gauff relentlessly.
Osaka edged clear after breaking Gauff to go 4-2 up and then broke the American again to complete victory.
Osaka will face either Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova or Ukrainian 27th seed Marta Kostyuk in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
SWIATEK SINKS ALEXANDROVA
Iga Swiatek swept aside Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets to sail into the quarterfinals.
Swiatek, the No 2 seed from Poland regarded as the pre-tournament betting favourite, reached her fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season with a 6-3, 6-1 victory in just over an hour.
The 2022 US Open champion had been made to work hard on Saturday for her third round victory over another Russian opponent, Anna Kalinskaya, who had raced into a 5-1 first set lead before losing in straight sets.
But Monday's assignment against Alexandrova proved more straightforward for the six-time Grand Slam champion.
After both players swapped breaks of serve to open the first set, Swiatek broke in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead.
She held to go two games up, and then was gifted a break point in the ninth game when Alexandrova double-faulted.
Swiatek pounced on that chance to take the first set, and then moved through the gears to wrap up victory in the second, breaking Alexandrova twice before serving out to clinch the win.
While four of Swiatek's six Grand Slam titles came on the clay of the French Open at Roland Garros, Monday's win demonstrated she remains comfortable on all surfaces.
"Every month is different and I can play on every surface if I feel confident in my game and in my head," she said afterwards, expressing satisfaction with her display.
"I felt like in the beginning she played fast but later on I felt in my bubble, in the zone," she said. "I'm happy with the quality and my serve."
VENUS WILLIAMS, FERNANDEZ INTO US OPEN DOUBLES QUARTERFINALS
Venus Williams prolonged her stay at the US Open on Monday, partnering Leylah Fernandez to reach her first Grand Slam doubles quarterfinal in nearly a decade.
The 45-year-old American tennis icon and Fernandez, who was born three years after Williams won the first of her 14 Grand Slam doubles titles in 1999, defeated Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova and China's Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4.
It is the first time Williams has reached a Grand Slam doubles quarterfinal since 2016.
Williams is playing in the doubles after receiving a last-minute invitation from US Open organisers to play in the tournament she won twice alongside younger sister Serena.
The Williams-Fernandez pair could face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and American Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion returned to competition at the end of July at the Washington Open after sixteen months away from the WTA Tour.
She indicated after her singles defeat that the US Open would likely be her last tournament of the season.