Osaka falls at first hurdle to Garcia on Grand Slam return
Sports
Caroline Garcia beat Naomi Osaka 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) at the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Naomi Osaka returned to Grand Slam tennis after maternity leave in the same way she left it with a first-round loss after going down 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open on Monday (Jan 15).
Taking on the experienced French 16th seed, who is an aggressive baseliner like Osaka, was always going to be a big challenge for the twice Australian Open champion, who returned to tournament tennis only two weeks ago after 15 months out.
The power that took Osaka to four Grand Slam titles before she took time off to have daughter Shai was still there but it was always going to take the 26-year-old time to rediscover her accuracy in clutch moments.
A double fault gave Garcia the first break point of the match in the fifth game and the 30-year-old former world number four converted it with alacrity to edge ahead at the Rod Laver Arena.
Osaka had a sniff of a break back at deuce in the eighth game but dumped a routine backhand into the net and Garcia held with back-to-back aces before going on to take the set.
The Japanese former world number one won her first three service games of the second set to love, but Garcia's serving was brilliant and Osaka was unable to put any pressure on it.
Osaka had beaten Garcia 6-2, 6-3 on the way to her 2021 triumph at Melbourne Park, but this was a much tighter contest with the second set decided in a tie-break.
Still hitting the mark with her first serves, Garcia raced to a big lead and clinched the win on her first match point when Osaka dumped another backhand into the net.
It was Osaka's earliest exit in eight visits to the Australian Open and her third successive loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam after she fell at the first hurdle at the French and US Opens in 2022.
NO REGRETS AS OSAKA LOSES AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Melbourne (AFP) – Naomi Osaka said she had no regrets and had done "the best that I could possibly do" after her Grand Slam comeback came to an abrupt halt at the Australian Open on Monday.
A single break proved enough for French 16th seed Caroline Gracia to win the opening set against her rusty opponent before dominating a second set tie-break to win 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) in the first round.
Japanese star Osaka, who has won four Grand Slams, stepped away from tennis in September 2022, citing mental health concerns.
After giving birth to a baby girl, Shai, in July, she decided to return for the 2024 season.
"I felt like I did the best that I could possibly do. It was just really nice to be on Rod Laver again, hear the audience, how much they interacted with the match. That was fun," she said.
"Of course I have to tell myself, 'Hey, like six months ago you were pregnant', stuff like that. Of course, there's a voice in my head that is, 'Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches?'
"I don't know. I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyways. So I guess just being nicer to myself is like a key thing that I learned in my time away."
Garcia paid respect to her defeated opponent after victory under the lights on Rod Laver Arena.
"I have a lot of respect for Naomi as a person and as a player," she said.
"She's been through a lot, but I'm just very glad to see her back and I hope she can enjoy the tennis now and have fun out there. She's a great girl.
"I mean, six months after giving birth she is playing quite amazing already, so we have to watch out."
Osaka's only competitive tennis before the Australian Open came at this month's Brisbane International, where she lost in the second round to Karolina Pliskova.
The two-time Australian Open champion went toe-to-toe with her French opponent at the start of the match on Monday.
But she double-faulted in the fifth game to hand Garcia a break point and then dumped a forehand into the net to surrender her serve.
The 26-year-old, who has tumbled to 831st in the world rankings, dug deep in her next service game to stay fighting in the set.
But the single break ultimately proved enough for Garcia.
Both players were solid on serve in the second set, with neither able to force the crucial breakthrough so it went to a tie-break.
Osaka faltered on her serve to slip to 3-2 and Garcia won all of the remaining points to seal the match, leaping for joy.
"I don't regret anything," said Osaka of her comeback.
"I think I've learned a lot during this trip, both on the court and off the court. Also I just played some really good people."
