THE JAPAN NEWS



 

MELBOURNE (AFP-Jiji) — Naomi Osaka conceded she had been “a bit childish” after her frustrations boiled over on Wednesday in setting up a third-round showdown with teenager Coco Gauff at the Australian Open.

The reigning champion handled the blustery Melbourne conditions to defeat China’s 42nd-ranked Zheng Saisai 6-2, 6-4.

But the 22-year-old Japanese was irritated by Zheng’s defensive play and her emotions got the better of her when the Chinese broke early in the second set.

Osaka threw her racket to the floor, then gave it a kick for good measure.
The two-time Grand Slam champion also tossed away a ball and slammed the racket down again as she slumped to her chair, covering her head with her towel.

“My racket just magically flew out of my hand,” Osaka said mischievously, smiling. “I couldn’t control it, I think that’s how I dealt with my frustration.

“It was a bit childish. I just want to play one match without throwing my racquet or kicking it. That’s all I want.”

The former world No. 1, seeded third for the defense of her Melbourne title, said that Zheng’s way of playing — “slicing and dicing and getting everything” — had riled her.

“It’s really tough because you start thinking — she’s not hitting winners.
“I definitely got very frustrated in the second set and it’s something that I knew would happen,” Osaka added.

“But I didn’t know the scale, what she would do to make me frustrated.”
Meanwhile, 15-year-old prodigy Gauff, showing a tenacity which is becoming her trademark, clawed her way back from a set down to beat the experienced Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Gauff, who screamed and pumped her fists as she completed her victory, said her “will to win” had got her through the tough second-round match at a windswept Melbourne Park.

“My parents always told me you can always come back — no matter what the score is,” said Gauff, who beat seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in round one.

Gauff also beat Williams on her Grand Slam debut last year at Wimbledon, and in another quirk, she faced Osaka in the U.S. Open third round, going down meekly in straight sets.

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, playing her final tournament before retiring, lived to fight again as she came from behind in both sets for a 7-5, 7-5 win over Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

 

And Australia’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty raced through 6-1, 6-4 against Polona Hercog, buoying hopes of a first home winner since 1978.
“It was very different end to end, I think the wind was a massive factor particularly with the new ball,” she said.

In other women’s results, Petra Kvitova, last year’s runner-up, came through 7-5, 7-5 against Paula Badosa of Spain, and China’s Zhang Shuai ousted American Caty McNally 6-2, 6-4.

Djokovic too much for Ito

Seven-time men's champion Novak Djokovic weathered a testing second set and breezy conditions to crush Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito and reach the third round.

The Serbian star gave up just seven games against the world No. 146 in the 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 romp on Rod Laver Arena which lasted 95 minutes.
“Credit to him for fighting till the end, the second set was pretty close,” said the reigning title-holder.

“They were tough conditions, pretty windy and it was hard to know where the balls were going. My serve helped a lot to get me out of trouble.”
His reward is a clash against another Japanese, Yoshihito Nishioka, who beat Britain’s Dan Evans in three sets.

It was Djokovic’s 70th match win at Melbourne Park against only eight defeats, but one of those defeats was against a wildcard — Denis Istomin — in the second round three years ago.

With that in mind, he came out with all guns blazing, racing through the first set in just 22 minutes.

The 32-year-old dropped a set in a tough opening clash on Monday against German Jan-Lennard Struff, and against the odds Ito pressed hard to level the match in the second set.

The experienced Japanese, bidding to reach a Grand Slam third round for the first time, cut down on his error rate to push Djokovic around the court and get into the rallies.

But the Serb inevitably got the break he was chasing in game nine when Ito fluffed a forehand and he quickly served it out, blasting down an ace to go two sets ahead.

Djokovic, bidding for a 17th Grand Slam title, had never lost a Slam match to a player ranked as low as Ito, and the Japanese couldn’t sustain his level, leaking errors as the world No. 2 galloped to the finish line.

Djokovic is seeking to become only the third man to win eight or more titles at the same Grand Slam after Rafael Nadal (12 at Roland Garros) and Roger Federer (eight at Wimbledon).

He is now on an eight-match win streak after leading Serbia to the ATP Cup title in Sydney ahead of the first Major of the year.