Australian Open 2020 - Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff's meeting could start tennis' next great rivalry

Fittingly, both came into the limelight with victories over the Williams sisters. For Osaka, the breakthrough came in 2018, when she beat Serena in the US Open final in front of an expectant New York crowd, who got wound up with perceived umpiring injustices and ended up making the young Japanese star's moment a bittersweet memory with jeers. For Gauff, the big moment came against Venus at Wimbledon last year where the 15-year-old defeated the seven-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets. A star was born.

When the two met at the US Open last year, it was the then-defending champion who emerged triumphant, beating the teenager 6-3 6-0 but the aftermath will be remembered for years to come, with Osaka embracing her clearly-overcome opponent and sharing the limelight in the post-match ceremonies.

“I wanted her to have her head high, not walk off the court sad,” Osaka said. “I want her to be aware that she’s accomplished so much, and she’s still so young.”

It was a steep learning curve for Gauff, who had been thrust into the public eye at a very young age over the course of just two months. In the wake of the match, she said she set out to learn from what she did wrong, and what Osaka did right. "I’ll learn a lot from the match. She’s the No. 1 player in the world right now, so I know what I need to do to get to that level."

There is some evidence to suggest that she has done. Since that day in New York, she has won her first WTA title, at Linz last year, and continued to pick up high-profile scalps, beating Jelena Ostapenko in the final in Austria and proving that her runs at Wimbledon and the US Open were no flukes with progress to the third round here.

But it is the manner of the victories that has been striking. She was arguably the favourite to beat Venus in the first round in Melbourne, and she shouldered that pressure well, despite no longer enjoying the status afforded to young upstarts. Faced with adversity in the second round against Sorana Cirstea, she came back from a set down to win, despite being 3-0 down in the final set.

And she has something to prove - though Ostapenko and Venus Williams are fine players with experience of winning big tournaments, she has only one top 10 win under her belt, against Kiki Bertens on her way to the Linz title. A rematch against Osaka provides the perfect spotlight for Gauff to prove how far she has come in the last five months and she is relishing that opportunity.

"I think I'll be less nervous this time," she says. "I think US Open I was nervous. It was my first time on [Arthur] Ashe. This time coming in I'm going to be more aggressive."

Gauff may be some way away from hitting her peak but a potential rivalry with Osaka would be a fantastic boost for the women's game. Though Serena Williams' feats are extraordinary, her place at the top of the game was rarely challenged by anything but her own health prior to her pregnancy and maternity leave.

Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka, Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters are all Grand Slam winners and former World No.1s with overwhelmingly poor records against Serena; of her title-winning rivals, only Venus and Justine Henin have ever truly challenged her.

Osaka and Gauff's rivalry got off to a poor start at the US Open last year. On Friday they can set the scene for the next 10 years.