Naomi Osaka was sensationally dumped out of the Australian Open by 15-year-old Coco Gauff
The Australian Open got another stunning result as Naomi Osaka was dumped out by American sensation Coco Gauff.
Osaka, who was the defending champion, exited the tournament in straight sets. The Japanese star was far from her best in the clash while Gauff put up a spirited show.
The teenager was better in most aspects of the game, and this was a huge turnaround from the last time they met.
Osaka won the previous clash at the US Open and dominated Gauff, but the tables were turned this time around.
The former champion was speaking to the press after the loss and highlighted what was different from her opponent:
“More aggressive. Her serve is way better than when I played her last year.”
“It’s hard because you learn more when you lose. The winner doesn’t really learn that much
“I fell like I wasn’t really swinging freely but she was.”
Not free enough
Osaka also explained that having the title of the ‘defending champion’ did make her game a little tight.
The 22-year-old claimed that she was open in the first match of the tournament, but she tightened up against Saisai Zheng.
She added that she didn’t want to lose a “15-year-old” but claimed she did her best in the game.
Osaka was also asked about learning more from her defeats and claimed she was tested a lot. The 22-year-old highlighted that her tests were in Tennis matches which is there for all to see.
This would come as a big blow to Osaka as she was one of the favourites to win the crown.
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However, this was far from a great performance, and it will be interesting to see how Gauff does in the coming rounds.
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