Fire lit, out early: Olympic drama for Japan’s superstar Osaka


Fire lit, get up early
Olympic drama for Japan’s superstar Osaka

This weak performance with many mistakes is particularly painful for the Japanese hosts of the Olympic Games. Naomi Osaka, the gold favorite, is eliminated from the tennis tournament. The 23-year-old who lit the fire missed a successful comeback after a break due to depression.

Brutal mood damper for hosts Japan at the Olympic Games: The gold dream of top favorite Naomi Osaka suddenly burst in the round of 16 of the Tokyo tennis tournament. The four-time Grand Slam winner lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic after a disappointing performance 1: 6, 4: 6.

Osaka, which lit the Olympic flame on Friday that was hyped as the face of Japan at the Olympics, was seen as the host’s greatest hope for gold. The dream of the medal wasn’t just hers for a long time.

But the round of 16 did not go at all. After two sovereign victories under the roof of the Center Court, which was closed due to rain, she was completely off the shelf. In the first set alone, which was lost after 24 minutes, she made 14 unforced mistakes.

In the second round, the 23-year-old improved, but gave up a break advantage against the highly concentrated Vondrousova. After strong points as well as annoying mistakes Osaka showed hardly any outward movement, and the spread in their strokes increased again. She was able to fend off two match points, and on the third match point she put a backhand out of bounds.

“A little fresher and happier”

Before the Olympics, Osaka had taken an almost two-month hiatus. On her noisy exit from the French Open, she had revealed that she repeatedly struggled with depression. In a highly regarded essay for Time Magazine, she declared, “It’s okay not to be okay.” The break was urgently needed, she said in Tokyo, “I definitely feel a little fresher and happy again”.

This means that the women’s competition is completely open. The world number one Ashleigh Barty had already failed in the opening round two weeks after her Wimbledon victory, the third placed Wimbledon semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus was eliminated in the second round. Also none of the three German players got past round two.

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