Osaka cruises as Djokovic resumes Olympic gold quest
Tokyo, Japan: Japanese star Naomi Osaka raced into the third round of the Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament on Monday as world number one Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a Golden Grand Slam.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka powered past Switzerland’s 49th-ranked Viktorija Golubic 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour, playing her second match in as many days after lighting the Olympic cauldron on Friday.
“Honestly, I feel like I was a bit more nervous before the match,” said Osaka.
“I felt a lot of butterflies, but I think as I started playing and feeling more comfortable, I knew that no matter what it would be a great match.”
Before arriving at the Games, Osaka had not played since May, when she walked out of the French Open saying media commitments were harming her mental health.
The 23-year-old won seven games in a row from 3-3 in the first set to seize control of the match at Ariake Tennis Park, where a gentle breeze and slightly overcast skies made for less brutal conditions after hot sunshine brought the extreme weather policy into play in round one.
The second seed is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw following the shock first-round exit of world number one and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty.
Third-seed Aryna Sabalenka was beaten by Donna Vekic in the second round.
“It definitely would mean a lot for me to win gold here, but I know it’s a process,” said Osaka, who plays 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova or Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu for a place in the quarter-finals.
“I know that these are the best players in the world and I honestly haven’t played in a while so I’m trying to take it one match at a time. But all in all I’m just really happy to be here.”
Belarusian Sabalenka surrendered a 4-2 advantage in the final set against Vekic as the Croatian fought back to win 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3).
Elina Svitolina was in danger of joining the exodus of leading seeds, but the Ukrainian scrapped her way past Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck rattled off the final 10 games to knock out Czech 10th seed Petra Kvitova in three sets, while Sara Sorribes Tormo backed up her defeat of Barty with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Fiona Ferro.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova beat Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-4 as two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza swatted China’s Wang Qiang aside for the loss of just three games.
– ‘Best birthday present’ –
Mari Sakkari, who will team up with Stefanos Tsitsipas for Greece in mixed doubles, defeated Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic 6-1, 6-2 the day after celebrating her 26th birthday.
“It is one of the best presents I have given myself in 26 years that I’m alive. To spend my birthday here, I don’t know if it will happen again in my life,” said Sakkari.
Later on Monday, Djokovic takes on Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany for a spot in the last 16.
The Serb is the overwhelming favourite for the men’s title in an event missing half the men’s top 10, including 2008 Olympic champion Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic, a 2008 bronze medallist, is hoping to emulate Steffi Graf’s 1988 feat of winning the calendar Golden Slam after already snapping up the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year.
Alexander Zverev is a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic. The German strolled past Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2, 6-2 in his second-round match and second seed Daniil Medvedev thrashed Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-1.
