Coco Gauff made it through to the quarter-finals of the China Open after her round of 16 opponent Naomi Osaka retired hurt.
Osaka was confident for the Gauff clash, with the former having battled through three rounds to set up the meeting.
Gauff meanwhile hadn’t dropped a set at the China Open going into the match, having overcome Clara Burel and Katie Boulter.
The American secured a record with the latter win, with Gauff winning a 47th WTA-1000 match on hard courts before turning 21.
But it was Osaka who took the first set in their China Open round of 16 tie, storming into a 6-3 lead in Beijing.
What Coco Gauff said to Naomi Osaka after their China Open match
Gauff fought back from 3-4 in the second set to take it 6-4, before her opponent was forced to retire with a lower back injury.
As per the WTA website, Gauff has now shared her thoughts on Osaka’s issue, saying: “Towards the end of the second set, I really saw it was hampering her movement a lot.
“Even if you saw that last point, 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 just told her she should be proud of herself. It’s not easy. 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.”
Naomi Osaka enjoys strong start under Patrick Mouratoglou
It remains to be seen if Osaka will make it back in time for the Wuhan Open, which gets underway next week.
Injury was the last thing the four-time Grand Slam champion would have wanted at this moment in time, having been going strong at the China Open.
After splitting with Wim Fissette, Osaka had clearly been enjoying life on the court with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Gauff meanwhile will be firmly focused on progressing further in Beijing, having taken her head-to-head record over Osaka to 3-2.
The 20-year-old will now take on Ukrainian qualifier Yulia Starodubtsewa, who is into her first WTA-1000 level quarter-final.
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