Terrible scenes in Tokyo: Naomi Osaka vs Daria Saville lasts barely 14 minutes as Australian retires due to injury
The exciting first-round clash between Naomi Osaka and Daria Saville ended before it could gather steam as the latter was forced to retire from the contest early in the first set at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.
In the first career meeting between the pair, Saville went down in considerable pain in her left knee while trailing 1-0, 30-30. The 28-year-old was very vocal in her reaction to the pain and stayed down for several minutes on the court.
Terrible moments for Daria Saville in the early going v Osaka. Ran around to hit a forehand and felt something in her knee. In big pain. :-( https://t.co/s5PrESwqng
By then, Osaka had quickly gone to her opponent's aid with a towel to try to comfort her. A wheelchair was also out on the court in case it was needed.
Though Saville received some treatment and seemingly recovered from the issue, getting to her feet and moving fine, she did not take any chances and retired from the contest.
@naomiosaka advances to the Tokyo last 16 as Saville is forced to retire through injury with the score at 1-0 in the first set.
🇯🇵 @naomiosaka advances to the Tokyo last 16 as Saville is forced to retire through injury with the score at 1-0 in the first set.
Speedy recovery, @Daria_gav 🫂💜
#TorayPPO https://t.co/1jGDMVCrwc
Saville's past injury troubles probably pushed her to withdraw from the contest. Last year, after her defeat to Ashleigh Barty at the Australian Open, she revealed that she had unbearable pain in her Achilles. Having been hampered by the issue for years, she decided to undergo surgery last February, which meant the former top-20 player ended the year ranked 419.
Saville has since slowly worked her way back into the circuit. But the latest injury is another setback for the 28-year-old, who will be hoping that her precautionary withdrawal doesn't end up being anything serious.
Osaka later took to social media, via the WTA's official Twitter account, to send her best wishes to Saville.
"I just wanted to wish you the best. I hope you're doing better. I just want to let you know you're one of the funniest people on the Tour and I still remember all the nice things you said to me at French this year. I want you to know that I am wishing you the best. I hope that it's not a major at all and you'll bounce back, because I know that's what you're good at," she said.
A message from @naomiosaka to @Daria_gav, who was forced to retire from their match through injury 💜 https://t.co/EOvdV6512r
Naomi Osaka to face Beatriz Haddad Maia in Toray Pan Pacific Open 2R
Daria Saville's injury-forced withdrawal from the first round means that Naomi Osaka has made it through to the second round. With that, she has ended a four-game losing streak, albeit in bitter-sweet circumstances.
Osaka will face fifth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia next, who got past 21-year-old wild card Yuki Naito 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 44 minutes in the opening round. While Naito fought hard and showed some brilliance on the forehand and at the net, she could not get past the Brazilian.
Osaka and Haddad Maia have faced each other once before, at the ITF Osprey Women qualifiers in 2015, where the four-time Grand Slam winner emerged victorious 7-6(4), 6-1.
Osaka is the defending champion in Tokyo this year. She won the title in 2019, and the tournament didn't take place the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.