Naomi Osaka from Japan reacts after losing to Maria Sakkari from Greece in the quarter-finals at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Sakkari defeated Osaka in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY MIA20210331129 GARYxIxROTHSTEIN
Naomi Osaka lost to Karolina Muchova despite a spirited fight at the Madrid Open
World No 2 Naomi Osaka will have to wait for a first clay title as she was defeated by Karolina Muchova in the 2021 Madrid Open.
Osaka, who won the Australian Open earlier in the year, however, she has struggled in the French Open. The 23-year-old has only reached the 3rd round in the competition with this performance coming thrice.
The last time she reached the 3rd round was in 2019 and well, she won’t be winning a clay title at Madrid for now.
Muchova picked up an impressive win and won the first set 6-4. A stunned Osaka got back into the groove of things in the second set as she won five games on the spin and the set 6-3.
However, the decider didn’t go her way with the rising Czech star getting a third win over a top five player this year.
Muchova won the final set 6-1 and caused a bit of an upset in Madrid. The Czech star moved to the round of 16 of the competition but Osaka was pragmatic in her loss.
The 23-year-old is still one of the best in the world and her outlook after the loss was still positive.
Osaka was happy with her performance and the effort she gave. She further believed that something good was coming her way and thanked everyone for the support:
“Caught an L today but beyond happy with how hard I fought and very grateful for the team I have around me. I already know something good is coming for me so I’ll keep putting my head down and working hard. Tomorrow is a new day! Thank you guys for the support”
This would be a bit of a blow for Osaka’s hopes of winning the French Open. However, the Japanese star knows how to bounce-back from such losses and it will be interesting to see how she does in Paris.
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