Marketa Vondrousova knocks Naomi Osaka out of Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Marketa Vondrousova of Team Czech Republic proceeds to quarter-finals with surprise 6-1; 6-4 win over four-time Grand Slam winner. The 2019 French Open runner-up won 6-1 6-4 in an hour and eight minutes and will now face either Spain’s Paula Badosa or Nadia Podoroska of Argentina.
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The First Set:
Meanwhile, at Ariake Tennis Park heavy rain suspended play on the outside courts. As a result, the roof was in operation on Centre Court. The Czech lefthander didn’t allow Naomi to settle down as she boasted her second serve and broke the opening game. The home favourite had two points to break straight back but Vondrousova saved them both. The mentality was just incomparable as she saved the second breakpoint with an ace, before going into a 2-0 lead.
A couple of superb backhands saw the world number 42 into a 3-0 lead after just nine minutes. Meanwhile, the scoreline became 4-0 within a blink of an eye. Moreover, Naomi Osaka was clearly struggling to get to grips with her opponent’s lefty serve. Although Osaka saved three break points before finally getting on the board, Vondrousova did manage to break for a third time to take the first set 6-1 in just 24 minutes.
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The Second Set:
However, the story of the second set was not similar as Naomi Osaka showed her quality and broke at the very first game. Osaka could not continue in the same vein as the second serve remained vulnerable and a double fault handed back the break at the end of a seven-minute-long fourth game to make it 2-2. Vondrousova later saved two break points with two trademark drop shots and then led 5-4 to leave Osaka serving to stay in the tournament.
Marketa had two match points, but Osaka saved the first with a crunching forehand winner before the Czech netted a backhand. She soon had a third chance to complete victory and she made it count. Marketa beat Osaka 6-4 in her own backyard and nullified her chances of winning Gold once and for all.
