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Naomi Osaka Knocked Out of Tokyo Olympics by Marketa Vondrousova
Naomi Osaka, who is ranked second and competing in her native nation, will leave the Tokyo Olympics empty-handed.
Osaka, 23, has been one of the Games’ faces in the Japanese city, igniting the Olympic cauldron in last week’s opening ceremony.
Osaka had looked great in her first two rounds, especially against Viktorija Golubic on Monday, but former French Open finalist Vondrousova was a step up in quality, and the young Czech won 6-1 6-4 at Ariake Tennis Park.
Osaka struggled with her groundstrokes and committed 32 unforced errors.
In the first round, Osaka defeated China’s Zheng Saisai and Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in the second round.
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“I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” Osaka said after the match, according to ESPN.
“I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this,” the world number two remarked.
“I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in the Olympics before and for the first year it was a bit much.”
Vondrousova used her signature drop shots with huge serves and strong groundstrokes, and she defended superbly when Osaka found her game in the second set.
According to the Games’ organizers, Osaka departed the venue after the match and declined to talk to the media.
However, she returned briefly and was asked whether her recent hiatus from tennis or the hot, humid conditions played a role in Tuesday’s result.
“I would say that everyone played in the same conditions, so it didn’t really matter that much,” Osaka said.
Osaka was born in Japan but grew up in America. She ignited the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony in Tokyo last week, a moment she described as “undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life.”
Osaka, the reigning US Open and Australian Open winner, had won 25 of her previous 26 hard court matches.
French Open winner Barbora Krejicova is also out of the women’s singles event, meaning all three Grand Slam champions have been eliminated this year.
“This is one of the biggest matches of my career,” Vondrousova remarked after her win. “Naomi is the greatest now. She was also the face of the Olympics, so it was also tough for her to play like this.”
Osaka, 23, returned to the court for the Olympics After a two-month mental-health sabbatical.
It was Osaka’s first event since pulling out of the French Open in June, when she said she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her maiden Grand Slam championship in 2018.
“I think I’m glad with how I played, with taking that break that I had,” she added.
“I’ve taken long breaks before and I’ve managed to do well.
“I’m not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher.
“I feel like my attitude wasn’t that great because I don’t really know how to cope with that pressure so that’s the best that I could have done in this situation.”
Before the Tokyo Games, Osaka said she felt rejuvenated by the break and hoped that the attention to it will show others that it is OK to talk about mental health concerns.
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