Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, favorite to win Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, was unexpectedly beaten in the third round of the women’s singles at the hands of Czech Marketa Vondrousova in two sets. Osaka fought in front of an opponent she had never faced before on the professional circuit, but the world number 2 suffered a bitter and as unexpected as stark defeat for 6-1, 6-4.
“I definitely feel there has been a lot of pressure for that,” admitted Osaka who played in the home Olympics, according to Xinhua. The tennis player was the last torchbearer and lit the Olympic tripod in the Opening Ceremony of the Games on 23 July.
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t participated in the Olympics before and felt a little too much pressure,” Osaka added. “If you watch the game, you probably understand that there are many things I counted on and couldn’t rely on today.”
Happy her opponent. “Of course it’s one of the biggest victories of my career,” said Vondrousova. «Naomi is a great player, she has won so many Grand Slam titles, so I knew it was going to be a difficult match. I am very happy with my game. I played fantastic in the first set, and then the second was really hard. I’m just glad I’m done. ‘