Olympics 2021: 3 talking points as Naomi Osaka suffers shock defeat in third round
The Tokyo Olympics 2021 witnessed a major upset on Tuesday as World No. 42 Marketa Vondrousova sent second seed Naomi Osaka packing in the third round. With the players being forced to playing under the roof due to rain, the Czech southpaw delivered a shock 6-1, 6-4 win in 1 hour 8 minutes.
Many expected Osaka to win the gold medal in her home country, but it was not to be. On that note, here are three talking points from the match.
#1 Marketa Vondrousova kept attacking the Naomi Osaka backhand
Marketa Vondrousova stormed out of the blocks and smartly exposed Naomi Osaka's unpreparedness in handling lefties. Vondrousova relentlessly went for the Japanese's backhand, drawing out errors frequently.
With Vondrousova winning most of the forehand-to-backhand battles, a seed of doubt was planted in Osaka's mind. Not surprisingly, her body language started looking negative after just a couple of games.
The four-time Grand Slam champion soon found herself trailing by a double break in the opening set. Although she did win her first game of the match to make it 1-4, it was clear who the more confident player on the day was.
#2 Vondrousova's serve and variety made a difference
Marketa Vondrousova used her lefty wide serve brilliantly to push Naomi Osaka off the court. She also came forward to finish points with mid-court forehands, and her strategy paid rich dividends.
Another aspect of Vondrousova's game that Osaka struggled with was how she deftly mixed things up. The occasional high balls to Osaka's backhand often put the Japanese in uncomfortable positions. Vondrousova's frequent use of slices and drop shots also caught Osaka off guard.
The Czech's consistent depth had Osaka in trouble for the most part. The former World No. 1 was reduced to a pale shadow of herself as she kept searching for answers.
#3 Naomi Osaka's unforced errors prove to be her undoing
Naomi Osaka, on her part, squandered the few chances she got by making a rash of unforced errors. Her erratic play was especially pronounced in the second set, after she had broken to go up 2-0.
At that point Osaka seemed to have got back her rhythm. Anticipating and moving better, she almost wrested control from Vondrousova in those brief early stages of the second set.
But it didn't take long for her errors to resurface. Her serve fell away too, and Vondrousova hit some punishing returns to break back for 2-2.
There was no looking back for the Czech from there. She held her serve confidently even as Osaka kept spraying errors - the Japanese finished the match with 32 of them - to eventually seal a famous win.