Mutua Madrid Open Loss Threatens The Top Ranking of Naomi Osaka

Published 05/09/2019, 1:43 PM EDT

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A quality match of tennis was played on the WTA court of Caja Magica in Madrid today between Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic. The Swiss, Bencic claims one of the biggest victories of her career as she cruises in the semifinals of Mutua Madrid Open 2019.

She knocked down the World Number one tennis player, Naomi Osaka in a sensational manner. It was a grueling 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win for the Swiss tennis player. It was an incessant action for more than two hours.

The reigning Australian Open champion, Naomi Osaka concedes the second loss of the season to the Swiss, the first one came at the Indian Wells 2019. With this victory, the Dubai Open 2019 champion, Bencic enters the fourth semifinal of the season. 

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The Japanese, Naomi Osaka was 5-3 up in the deciding set and she was serving for the match. She made ill-timed unforced errors which equalized the set to 5-5. Despite slamming 12 aces and 48 winners, Naomi Osaka packs her bag from Madrid. 

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“It was very difficult today. I think it was a great match,” Belinda Bencic said after her rollercoaster battle against Naomi Osaka. “At first I didn’t have much rhythm against Naomi, but from 3-5 in the third set I just relaxed—I think 3-5 is my score! I’m just very relieved right now, and maybe I’ll realize what I’ve achieved later today.”

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With Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep being ranked second and third in the world and with both of them playing astute tennis at Mutua Madrid Open 2019, this jeopardizes Naomi Osaka’s World Number one spot. Both the European ladies are yet to drop a set at the Madrid Masters. And the World Number two, Kvitova will be ranked World Number one for the first time in her career if she dwells further into the tournament in Madrid. 

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On the other courts of WTA, Simona Halep defeated the Miami Open 2019 champion, Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. And Bencic will next take on the two-time Madrid champion, Halep in the semifinals at Manolo Santana in Caja Magica.

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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