World #2 Naomi Osaka returned to competitive action at the Tokyo Olympics for the first time since withdrawing from the French Open. Although she cruised past China’s Zheng Saisai and Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in her first two matches, she faced a tremendous challenge in Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova today.
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Home favorite crashes out in embarrassing fashion
The Japanese star suffered a shock upset at the hands of Vondrousova, who took an impressive straight sets victory. Although Osaka fought back in the second set, she couldn’t save herself from losing 1-6, 4-6 to the unseeded Czech.
The defeat means Osaka‘s challenge to clinch a gold medal on home soil ended in disappointing fashion. Despite that, there’s no doubt that Vondrousova was better on the day than the World #2. This marked Osaka’s first defeat before the quarterfinals of a hard court tournament since the 2020 Australian Open.
Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Tennis – Women’s Singles – Round 3 – Ariake Tennis Park – Tokyo, Japan – July 27, 2021. Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic shakes hands with Naomi Osaka of Japan after winning her third round match REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
After the match, tennis fans took to Twitter to express their feelings of shock and awe after the biggest upset of the Tokyo Olympics. Here are some of the best reactions to Osaka’s defeat on Twitter.
Daring to dream. 🇨🇿 Marketa Vondrousova is the first player through to the women’s singles quarterfinals, upsetting Naomi Osaka in straight sets. #Olympics • #Tennis • #Tokyo2020
lol at #Vondrousova drop shotting #Osaka to death here #Olympics #Tennis
https://twitter.com/iamwoleojo/status/1419878610534608913?s=20
Wow definitely did not see Naomi dropping the first set 6-1😬 keep battling @naomiosaka #Tennis
osaka not feeling the ball to start off, vondrousova taking great chances early in this encounter #Tokyo2020 #tennis
Damn! Naomi lost her serve again. #tennis #tokyo2020 #Olympics
Naomi doesn’t look into this match at all. Very much going thru the motions. #tennis
https://twitter.com/iamwoleojo/status/1419882685057675273?s=20
#NaomiOsaka knocked out in another huge #tennis upset! #Olympics
Vondrousova with a convincing straight-set rout of Osaka, and I say - once again - that this women’s #Tennis tournament is wide open. Chance for Muguruza? #Tokyo2020
How will Naomi Osaka bounce back?
Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Tennis – Women’s Singles – Round 2 – Ariake Tennis Park – Tokyo, Japan – July 26, 2021. Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts after winning her second round match against Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland REUTERS/Mike Segar
We can best assess this devastating loss as an error-strewn contest. Losing to the unseeded Czech youngster would hamper the world #2’s confidence ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year. However, if there’s anyone who knows how to bounce back from defeat, it’s Naomi Osaka.
How does Naomi Osaka bounce back from this massive loss? Will the former US Open Champion make a triumphant return at the tournament that brought her fame and recognition?
READ MORE: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Women?s Tennis Favorite Naomi Osaka Knocked Out by Marketa Vondrousova