In a battle between two aggressive baseliners in the third-round of the Australian Open, defending champion Naomi Osaka bowed down to Amanda Anisimova after three enthralling sets. Osaka started off confidently, but Anisimova held her ground and increased her level to snatch the victory from Osaka.

At the Rod Laver Arena, Barty was easing past Camila Giorgi and fans were anticipating a Barty-Osaka pre-quarters encounter in Melbourne on Sunday. But, Osaka’s top-notch game just wasn’t enough as the American stepped up her level in the super tie-breaker to seal the win.

Naomi Osaka got emotional as her team embraced her following the defeat to Amanda Anisimova

As Osaka was walking away from the court and into the locker room, she was seen getting emotional as she approached her team, who were waiting to console her. It seemed to be was a heart-breaking moment for the four-time Grand Slam champion.

For sure, Osaka gave her best shot against Amanda, but the latter was much more determined, especially in the third set. With the legendary coach Darren Cahill in her box, the American star maintained composure to win significant moments during the match-up. Anisimova will now face Ashleigh Barty on Sunday.

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Coming to Osaka, this defeat will hurt her WTA rankings as she will drop to the 84th position when the new rankings release post the ‘Happy Slam’. It will be a restart for the Japanese player as she will have to fight her way back to the top amidst intense competition.

Osaka is proud of her Australian Open performance despite the Round 3 exit

But the Japanese player was confident and happy about her progress as she analyzed her chances of getting seeded at a Slam in the future.

“If I’m not seeded at a slam in the future I think the other players are more worried to play against me than I am to play against them,” Osaka said in the post-match presser.

Osaka also remained proud of her performance against Anisimova and considered this as the biggest step in her growth as a tennis player going forward.

“I’m proud of myself for this… this for me is the biggest step, even though I lost,” said the former world no.1.

With a slump in her rankings, Naomi Osaka’s 2022 season gets all the tougher and it will be a story to remember if she is able to turn around her fortunes and make an impact by the end of this year.

Amanda Anisimova Saves 2 Match Points to Dethrone Naomi Osaka at Australian Open 2022 R3