"She’s been able to rely on her speed on her wheels" - Tennis Channel panel offer analysis ahead of Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka showdown

Coco Gauff faces off against Naomi Osaka in a hugely intriguing matchup, with the former Grand Slam winners contending for a place in the US Open quarter-finals.

Both players come into the tournament on different trajectories. Osaka went on an incredible run in the Masters 1000 event in Montreal, almost going the whole way before being denied by 18-year-old Victoria Mboko in the final. She is now up to world 23 and has a huge opportunity to make some more headway up the rankings.

Gauff also has the chance to rise up the rankings, with a second US Open triumph offering her a chance of leaving New York as the number one in the world. Aside from that, after her Roland Garros victory, the world number three has been through some choppy waters. Failing to win a match on grass, she has been struggling massively with her serve, accumulating numerous double faults whilst being left vulnerable on the second serve to those who attack it.

Despite this, she has managed to squeeze through a so-far stressful draw, seeing off Ajla Tomljanovic in a classic before getting the better of Donna Vekic and Magdalena Frech in straight sets, with the win against the Pole the most convincing yet.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel, former American tennis player Chanda Robin explained what Gauff needed to do to defeat the four-time Grand Slam champion. She said: "A lot of it is because of her defense at times. She’s been able to rely on her speed—on her wheels—and I think she'll do a bit of that today against Osaka. That’s going to be the push and pull.

"Osaka’s looking to shorten up points. That’s been her M.O. this whole tournament. Gauff’s looking to extend rallies. The question is: can she get Osaka missing on the edges of the court? That’s going to be a big factor. Can she continue to flood the court with first serves and not allow Osaka to step in on those first balls? That remains to be seen. She’s used her forehand really well—particularly the forehand down the line. She’s changed the patterns when she’s needed to. The question is: can she do that against Gauff’s speed?

"We talked about how players sometimes play Gauff a little too wide on the forehand, where she can get more angle. Then it becomes difficult to change direction. So can Osaka get it to Gauff’s forehand cross-court but more through the court, where she can have opportunities to change direction and dictate."

Former world number one Lindsay Davenport questioned how she would fare against a big hitter in Osaka compared to her third round tie against Frech. "Gauff served so well against Frech, but Frech was only averaging groundstroke speeds in the 60s," she said. "On return, she was behind the baseline and wasn’t trying to be aggressive. Gauff is now playing one of the power hitters. She struggled a bit against Tomljanovic and struggled against Vekic as well—players who take the ball early and hit hard through the court. You’ve got to imagine Osaka is going to be on that baseline, ready to attack the second serve. Let’s see how she handles it.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier viewed it from an Osaka perspective, singling out the Gauff serve as a huge weakness and something to be pounced upon. "If you’re scouting from Osaka’s side, you’ve got to be ready to attack even the first serve," he said. "It’s really just second-serve speed that Coco’s largely been hitting—trying to flood the court with first serves to de-stress the situation. Of course, she wants to go deep in this tournament. But if she loses to Osaka, that’s a little more palatable in the first three rounds."