Defending champion Naomi Osaka is out of the US Open following a straight-sets loss to Belinda Bencic in the last 16. Osaka, who was broken once in each set at Flushing Meadows, will lose her world number one ranking, with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty set to return to the top spot.
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Bencic, 22, was delighted with the result and admitted she worked hard on her tactics to overcome the Far East ace. “I was so excited to come on the court, the challenge cannot be bigger – Naomi Osaka is a great player and won the US Open last year,” she said.
“I had to be on top of my game and am really pleased with how I played. “She has a lot of power, I was just trying to play it a little bit like chess, anticipate and make a tactic on the court.” Bencic, the 13th seed, will play Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals after the 23-seeded Croat beat Germany’s 26th seed Julia Gorges 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3 in two hours and 42 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
