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Japanese medal hope Naomi Osaka sailed into the third spherical of the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, as a few of her closest opponents within the girls’s singles crumbled beneath stress and crashed out of the match.
World quantity three Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus fell to Donna Vekic in an exhilarating three-set encounter on Centre Courtroom, with the Croatian prevailing 6-4 3-6 7-6(3).
Sabalenka’s loss got here a day after top-ranked Australian Ash Barty stumbled out of the ladies’s singles occasion in a lopsided defeat to Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Two-time Wimbledon champion and the Czech Republic’s Olympic flagbearer Petra Kvitova was crushed by Belgian Alison van Uytvanck 5-7 6-3 6-0, whereas final yr’s French Open champion Iga Swiatek additionally fell 6-3 7-6(4) to Spaniard Paula Badosa.
Osaka, who returned to competitors this week after a two-month break, has been in spectacular type whereas embracing her function as one of many host nation’s most distinguished ambassadors of the Video games.
Profitable Olympic gold on residence soil can be the icing on the cake, although Osaka stated she was decided to not look too far forward.
“Properly you recognize, undoubtedly it might imply quite a bit for me to win gold right here however I do know it’s a course of,” the world quantity two stated.
“You understand, these are one of the best gamers on the planet and I actually haven’t performed shortly so I’m attempting to maintain it one match at a time. All in all, I’m simply actually glad to be right here.” Osaka had not performed a match since withdrawing after the primary spherical on the French Open in Might, amid controversy over her determination to skip obligatory information conferences throughout the match in a bid to guard her psychological well being.
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion was relentless in her match in opposition to Fiftieth-ranked Swiss Viktorija Golubic, securing the 6-3 6-2 win with a robust forehand to arrange a gathering with Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.
Another title contenders additionally superior.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova continued her run of fine type, taking out Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-4, whereas two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza made quick work of China’s Wang Qiang, profitable 6-3 6-0.
On the boys’s facet, fourth seed Alexander Zverev brushed apart Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia 6-2 6-2, whereas world quantity two Daniil Medvedev breezed by way of with a cushty 6-2 6-1 win over India’s Sumit Nagal.
‘FIRST POSITIVE CASE’
The tennis match reported its first COVID-19 case amongst gamers on Monday after males’s doubles competitor Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands examined optimistic.
Rojer is the sixth member of the Dutch Olympic delegation to check optimistic after infections reported by a skateboarder, a taekwondo fighter, and three members of the rowing group, together with workers.
Rojer and his companion Wesley Koolhof had been positioned in isolation, whereas their second-round opponents from New Zealand acquired a walkover into the quarter-finals, the Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) stated in a press release. Reuters
