Naomi Osaka turned back the clock on Monday in New York, producing the cleanest big‑stage performance of her comeback from maternity leave to overwhelm Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in a blockbuster fourth-round meeting inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In front of a packed 23,771-seat arena, the two crossover stars – who between them own three of the past seven US Open championships – reprised a rivalry that began with their famous encounter here in 2019. This time there were no tears, no consolations, only the sight of a four‑times major champion dictating terms again on the sport’s biggest stage.

Gauff, 21 and seeded third, is the same age Osaka was when she broke the teenager’s heart six years ago on the same court. Then, Osaka had comforted the 15-year-old wildcard in a moment that went viral. On Monday the generosity stopped at the baseline. Osaka dominated from the first ball, ripping returns and taking control of rallies before the crowd could rouse their favourite. She breezed through her opening service games with the authority that once lifted her to the summit of the sport, winning 16 of her first 18 service points, and her confident body language stood in stark contrast to the brooding, stressed figure she has sometimes appeared since her return.

Gauff’s serving woes, the recurring theme of her summer, surfaced immediately. In her opening service game she fell behind 15-40, hitting a routine forehand into the net to concede the break, and never quite recovered. She served a double fault three times in the opening set, the last on set point to hand it away after only 31 minutes.

By then she had sprayed 16 unforced errors, 11 of them off a forehand that was in open revolt. The Labor Day crowd, eager to lift her, swelled behind her at every pressure point, but their encouragement could not dispel the nervous energy. Osaka looked liberated, striding confidently to her chair with a one-set lead, while Gauff disappeared into the tunnel for a bathroom break.

“I felt it was the best I served all tournament,” Gauff said. “A lot of aces. Yeah, there were some doubles, but I thought that was a good performance from me serving. Off the ground I just made way too many mistakes.”

The troubles on serve have been simmering for months. After winning a second grand slam at Roland Garros in June, Gauff endured a turbulent summer of double faults and early exits, including a first-round defeat at Wimbledon that underscored the fragility of her delivery. She arrived in New York with a reshuffled team and a newly hired biomechanics specialist, Gavin MacMillan, who helped Aryna Sabalenka to turn her own serve from liability into a potent weapon en route to three grand slam titles and the world No 1 ranking.

Early rounds suggested the transition was uneven – a grinding three-setter against Ajla Tomljanovic, then tears in her second-round escape against Donna Vekic – before she steadied with a better display on Saturday in a straight-sets win against Magdalena Frech. She had spoken of embracing a long-term process rather than chasing a quick fix, but under the Ashe sun there was little sign of the assured server who had appeared only in flashes.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Osaka, serving at 2-2, fell behind on serve for the first time all afternoon but rattled off four straight points to hold. In the next game Gauff opened with a fifth double fault, then unravelled in a flurry of errors off both wings to gift Osaka another break. From there the match was all but a handshake away. Osaka pounded through the closing games without fuss, sealing her progress after just 64 minutes when Gauff dumped a forehand into the net for her 33rd unforced error.

The statistics reflected Osaka’s clarity of purpose. She landed only 42% of first serves but won 32 of 38 points on her racket, including 94% of first-serve points. She finished with 10 winners to 12 unforced errors, content to sit back as Gauff’s erratic play kept rallies short and prevented her famed speed from becoming a factor.

For Gauff, the defeat was a sobering comedown after an uneven but promising opening week. She had hoped a remodelled service motion would hold under pressure, but five double faults and more than four times as many unforced errors (33) as winners (eight) told the story.

“It’s disappointing for sure, but it is a step in the right direction,” she said. “If I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out the first round.” She admitted the past three months had taken a toll. “It’s been a tough post-French Open for me. I don’t know, I feel like I put so much pressure on myself at 21.”

Osaka, in contrast, gave the appearance of a contender again. Seeded 23rd after reaching the Montreal final last month, she has now won 10 of her past 11 matches and appears to be gathering momentum with each week. This was her 14th career win against a top-10 opponent and the third since launching her comeback last year in Brisbane.

Every time she has reached a grand slam quarter-final she has gone on to lift the trophy – 12 wins from 12 matches at majors in the last eight or beyond – a curious statistic that now hovers over the draw. She will face Karolina Muchova in the last eight, and on this evidence she will be no one’s idea of an underdog.

Her elation was evident in the on‑court interview. “I honestly just had so much fun out here,” she said. “I was in the stands two months after I gave birth to my daughter watching Coco, and I just really wanted the opportunity to come out here and play again. This is my favourite court in the world and it means so much for me to be back here.”

Asked when she started believing again, she pointed to Montreal. “I had played a match there where I had to save two match points. Ever since then I thought to myself anything’s possible. You just have to keep trying and keep a smile on your face.” She added: “I’m a little sensitive and I don’t want to cry, but I want to say thank you to my team. I looked up to Coco a lot – the way she carries herself is really special – and it means a lot to share the court with her again.”

Whatever comes next, Monday felt like a landmark. One of only two mothers in the last 16 alongside Taylor Townsend, Osaka has spoken about rediscovering joy in her tennis. Here she found it in real time, grinning after big points and basking in the Ashe ovation.

As Labor Day rallies took place across the US, the Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson sharply denounced the Trump administration’s threat to deploy federal troops to the city as part of an immigration crackdown.

“No federal troops in the city of Chicago,” said Johnson on Monday to a gathered crowd at the “Workers over Billionaires” demonstration in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood.

Johnson added: “We’re going to defend our democracy … we’re going to protect the humanity of every single person in the city of Chicago.”

Johnson later led the crowd in chants of “No troops in Chicago” and “Invest in Chicago”, the New York Times reported.

Protesters also met outside the Trump Tower in the city’s River North neighborhood, carrying anti-Trump posters and chanting “Lock him up”, according to footage posted to social media.

Monday’s rally in Chicago was one of hundreds of protests organized across the country as part of the national “Workers Over Billionaires” effort, a mass action calling for the protection of social safety nets such as Social Security; the funding of public schools, healthcare, and housing; amid other demands.

“Together we will demand a country that puts workers over billionaires,” said the May Day Strong group, a coalition to labor unions, in a statement about the event.

Demonstrations took place in cities large and small, including New York, Houston, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. Smaller cities such as Cleveland, Ohio and Greensboro, North Carolina, held rallies of their own as a part of the nationwide action.

The May Day Strong group, a coalition to labor unions, organized Monday’s efforts, along with AFL-CIO, the US’s largest federation of unions; the One Fair Wage, a non-profit advocating for fair wages for restaurant workers; and other labor groups.

“This is about organic, grassroots organizing, and we intentionally wanted it to be outside of Washington DC, because that’s where the impacts are being felt,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, about Monday’s efforts.

In New York, hundreds gathered across the street from Trump Tower in the city’s Midtown district, USA Today reported. Separate protests were held throughout New York state, including in Albany, the state’s capital.

US senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents New York, made an appearance at an Albany demonstration. “It’s Labor Day [and] we want to celebrate working men and people in this community,” said Gilibrand. New York state, the middle class was built on the labor movement and it’s time to recognize how important working people are to this community, to our country, to our great state,” she added.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 residents in DC joined a protest against Trump’s federal takeover of the city, reported WUSA9. Participants of the event, dubbed the “Freedom Run”, ran and walked through DC while chanting.

Christie Harlan, who took part in Monday’s run, shared her motivations for joining with WUSA9. “I feel bad for the families of the national guard members who’ve been deployed here to essentially be window dressing for this administration,” said Harlan.

The Trump administration’s termination of federal employees, many who worked out of the DC area, also prompted others to take part in the run. “Firing folks left and right, some of the damage that’s being done is going to be irreparable whenever things come back,” said participant Janice Ferebee to WUSA9.

Thousands also marched in the Los Angeles area early Monday, local affiliate KTLA reported. The rally was followed by a free picnic for community members, along with live entertainment.

Several protests were organized in California’s Bay Area. Residents in Redwood City, about an hour from San Francisco, even formed a 17-mile human chain to Santa Clara as apart of the day’s protest, NBC Bay Area reported.

Alongside the coordinated protests, workers at the Hilton Americas-Houston, one of Houston’s largest hotels, walked off the job as apart of a nine-day strike, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The walkout came as Hilton failed to reach a deal with members of the Unite Here Local 23 Texas chapter, which includes the more than 400 workers at the hotel.

Among several demands, workers are campaigning for a higher minimum wage of $23-per-hour, up from the current rate of $16.50. The strike, which is set to end 10 September, is the first in the union’s 25-year history, chapter president Franchesca Caraballo told the Chronicle.

As thousands took part in the rallies, Trump posted his own Labor Day message to the Truth Social platform: a photo of himself shaking hands with workers.

The image featured the caption: “Celebrating 250 years of THE AMERICAN WORKER. Happy Labor Day.”

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A flotilla carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Gaza left Barcelona’s port on Monday for a second time after the vessels were forced to return a day earlier because of bad weather conditions.

The Global Sumud Flotilla had departed Sunday under much fanfare only to return a few hours later after a storm hit parts of Spain overnight. Facing winds of more than 56 kph (35 mph), some of the smaller boats taking part in the mission would have been at risk, organizers said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many boats departed on Monday. Organizers had previously said that there were around 20 vessels with participants from 44 countries. Dozens more boats were expected to join the flotilla from across the Mediterranean later this week, making it the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea.

This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in northern Gaza. Food experts warned earlier this month that Gaza City was gripped by famine and that 500,000 people across the Gaza Strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters had gathered under a scorching sun on the docks of Barcelona’s old port Sunday to cheer the mission as it took off. The departure on Monday after sunset was much quieter.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Barcelona ex-Mayor Ada Colau were among those on board. The flotilla also received support from Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Liam Cunningham, known for his role in HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

The Israeli military is likely to try and stop the boats from getting near Gaza, as they have done in the past.

The nearly two-year war has killed more than 63,000 people, with nearly 340 Palestinians dying of malnutrition, including 124 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Hamas-led militants started the war with an assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which attackers killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.