Japan's Naomi Osaka shakes hands with Sara Sorribes Tormo after she lost to the Spaniard in the first singles match of the Federation Cup qualifiers.
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Sara Sorribes Tormo as Spain took a 1-0 lead in their ongoing Federation Cup (Fed Cup) tie against Japan.
A dominating Tormo never allowed Osaka to settle in as she lost her opening 10 points on serve in the opening set of the match at La Manga Club in Murcia.
Adding more to Osaka’s miseries, Tormo came from 2-0 behind in the second set to record an excellent victory over her higher-ranked opponent.
This is the 78-ranked player’s first victory over the World No. 10, whom she has faced 2 times before. However, that was not the case today as she put up a spirited performance to overthrow the two-time Grand Slam winner.
“We knew Sara could make it very uncomfortable for Naomi and she stuck to the game plan perfectly,” said Spain captain Anabel Medina Garrigues.
The Twitteratti were quick to react after the unexpected turn of events that saw Osaka lose the first match of the rubber. Here are a few of them:
Meanwhile, in the other singles match, veteran Carla Suarez Navarro will face Japan’s Misaki Doi later on Friday. 31-year old Navarro is playing in what is likely to be her last home Fed Cup tie and would be eager to put up a good show.
The two have played each other just two times before with each emerging winner once. The last time they met, Navarro proved to be the winner, back in 2016. However, the Japanese has a better record in the Federation Cup having beaten the Spanish seasoned campaigner back in 2013.
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