Naomi Osaka lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round of the Tokyo tennis tournament on Tuesday (July 27). The second-ranked Osaka, who was born in Japan and grew up in the United States, struggled with her usually reliable groundstrokes.
The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova produced a series of drop-shot winners and other crafty shots that drew Osaka out of her comfort zone. Osaka won her opening two matches in straight sets following a two-month mental-health break. But conditions were different on Tuesday with the roof closed because it was raining outside.
In the first meeting of the pair, Osaka’s radar was awry at the start with the Czech pouncing on her second serve and breaking in the opening game. The home favourite had two points to break straight back but Vondrousova saved them both, the second with an ace, before going into a 2-0 lead.
And a couple of superb backhands saw the world number 42 into a 3-0 lead after just nine minutes which quickly became 4-0 with Osaka struggling to get to grips with her opponent’s lefty serve. Osaka saved three break points before finally getting on the board, but Vondrousova did manage to break for a third time to take the first set 6-1 in just 24 minutes.
Awesome Kaylee McKeown extends gold run for Australian women in pool
Kaylee McKeown powered on Tuesday to her first Olympic gold and a third win in three days for a triumphant Australian women’s team, launching a thrilling fightback in the 100m backstroke that was within a fingertip of her own world record. Canada’s Kylie Masse took a good lead from the start and held it at the halfway mark but McKeown switched gears out of the turn and clawed back to win in 57.47, with Masse taking silver and American Reagan Smith the bronze.
McKeown’s victory puts Australia’s swimmers on equal terms with the United States in the gold medal race with three each, turning up the heat in the latest bout of one of the most enduring Olympic rivalries. Driven by the memory of her father, who died of cancer last year, McKeown`s gold medal extends an impressive run of form that made her top-ranked in three events in Tokyo, though she had to withdraw from one due to a schedule conflict.
"It’s not necessarily what I have been through, everyone has their own journey. It just so happens I have had a tough time,” she said.
“My legs were definitely hurting in the last 20 metres ... I’m just thankful that I have come away with the position I have.”
