"I didn't really know how to cope with the pressure" - Naomi Osaka after 3R loss to Marketa Vondrousova at Olympics 2021
Having won four Grand Slams on hardcourts, Naomi Osaka was always the favorite for the women's singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In fact, her chances of bringing Japan their maiden Olympic gold in tennis were boosted following World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty's first-round exit.
But the Australian Open champion, who made history last week by becoming the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron, collapsed to a shock 6-1, 6-4 defeat against World No. 42 Marketa Vondrousova in the third round on Tuesday.
Osaka looked a pale shadow of her all-conquering self and struggled to get any kind of rhythm in her shots, which was surprising given how well she played in the first two rounds.
While discussing what went wrong in her loss to Vondrousova, the 23-year-old admitted the pressure of her playing in her maiden Olympics finally got to her.
"I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this," said the second seed. "I think it's maybe because I haven't played in the Olympics before and for the first year it was a bit much."
The World No. 2, who committed 32 unforced errors, conceded that she wasn't happy with her attitude on the court.
"I feel like my attitude wasn't that great because I didn't really know how to cope with that pressure so that's the best that I could have done in this situation," said the Japanese.
Glad with how I played after the break: Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka might not have lived up to expectations in Tokyo, but she definitely showed glimpses of her best form in the first couple of rounds, where she didn't lose a set. The fact that she was able to play at such a level even after a two-month break from the tour should hold her in good stead going forward.
Despite her Olympic journey coming to oan abrupt end, the Japanese said she was satisfied with how she played after being out of action for so long.
"I think I'm glad with how I played, with taking that break that I had," Osaka said. "I've taken long breaks before and I've managed to do well. I'm not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher."