US Open 2019 - Naomi Osaka comforts Coco Gauff and invites 15-year-old to share post-match interview

Updated 01/09/2019 at 11:46 GMT

Naomi Osaka displayed incredible sportsmanship once again when inviting an emotional Coco Gauff to share her post-match interview after defeating the 15-year-old at the US Open.

Naomi Osaka of Japan consoles a crying Coco Gauff of the United States and asks her to conduct the on court interview with her after the Women's Singles round three match on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Image credit: Getty Images

Gauff's run in New York came to an abrupt end as defending champion Osaka powered through 6-3 6-0 to the fourth round.

However, it was the compassion shown by the Japanese world number one which has captured hearts, with Osaka comforting Gauff and urging her to stay out and thank her fans.

"She was crying, she won. I was crying. Everybody was crying!" said Gauff. "I didn't know why she was crying. I was like, 'you won the match!'"

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"I was wanting to leave the court because I'm not the type of person who wants to cry in front of everyone. I didn't want to take that moment away from her, as well.

She told me it's better than crying in the shower. She convinced me multiple times to stay. I kept saying no. Finally I said, OK, I'll do it. Because I didn't know what to do.

"I'm happy that she kind of convinced me to do it because, I mean, I'm not used to crying in front of everyone."

"It was amazing. I'm going to learn a lot from this match," Gauff added. "She's the number one player in the world right now, so I know what I need to do to get to that level.

After the match, I think she just proved that she's a true athlete. For me, the definition of an athlete is someone who on the court treats you like your worst enemy but off the court can be your best friend.

"I think that's what she did tonight," added Gauff, who trained at the same Florida tennis centre as Osaka when they were younger.

Osaka said: "You guys raised an amazing player. I used to see you guys training in the same place as us. The both of us made it and are working as hard as we can. I think this is the most focused I have been since Australia.

"I am sorry for playing you in this mentality. It was super fun!"

Osaka said she had the idea to invite Gauff into the interview when they were shaking hands at the net.

"The thing that people don't see is that we go into the locker room and just cry and do press after," she said.

I thought it would be nice if she addressed the people who came and obviously cheered so hard for her. She's had an incredible week so I thought I'd just make a positive statement out of it."

Additional reporting from Reuters

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