Osaka sent packing from Western & Southern by Zhang
Shuai Zhang takes out Naomi Osaka in round one of the WTA Cincinnati 1000 on Wednesday, handing Osaka her fifth loss in six matches. Zhang will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 32.
Naomi Osaka San Jose 2022 © Zuma/Panoramic
Naomi Osaka is out of the Western & Southern Open after just one match, as she suffered a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Shuai Zhang on Tuesday afternoon. The first-round contest lasted just one hour and 14 minutes, during which Osaka was broken three times while winning only 43 percent of her second-serve points.
Brilliant Zhang 💪
— wta (@WTA) August 16, 2022
🇨🇳 @zhangshuai121 defeats Osaka 6-4, 7-5 to move into the second round in Cincinnati!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/LoUqj2EAza
Struggles continue for Osaka
The former world No. 1 at least battled until the end, as she survived a deuce game while serving to stay in the match at 3-5 in the second set and won another deuce game to break Zhang for 5-5. However, the Chinese underdog broke right back for a 6-5 advantage and then closed out the proceedings at love in the final game.
Osaka fell to 1-5 in her last six matches dating back to the Mutua Madrid Open in early May.
Zhang advances to face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 7-5 on Monday.
Cincinnati WTA 1000, other first-round matches and results
- Serena Williams vs. Emma Raducanu
- Madison Keys vs. Yulia Putintseva
- Anastasia Potapova vs. Simona Halep
- Coco Gauff vs. Marie Bouzkova
- Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Jelena Ostapenko
- Sofia Kenin vs. Shelby Rogers
- Martina Trevisan vs. Anna Kalinskaya
- Karolina Pliskova vs. Venus Williams
- Marta Kostyuk vs. Camila Giorgi
- Belinda Bencic vs. Sorana Cirstea
- Elise Mertens beat Anhelina Kalinina (Q): 6-1, 6-1
- Sloane Stephens (WC) beat Alize Cornet: 6-1, 6-0
- Caroline Garcia (Q) beat Petra Martic (LL): 6-3, 6-3
- Ajla Tomljanovic (Q) beat Taylor Townsend (Q): 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
- Victoria Azarenka beat Kaia Kanepi: 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- Tereza Martincova (Q) beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz (LL): 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3
- Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Leylah Fernandez (13): 6-4, 7-5
- Petra Kvitova beat Jil Teichmann: 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3
- Catherine McNally (WC) beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich: 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2)
- Alison Riske-Amritraj beat Sara Sorribes Tormo: 6-1, 7-6(2)
- Amanda Anisimova beat Daria Kasatkina (9): 6-4, 6-4
- Veronika Kudermetova beat Barbora Krejcikova: 6-3, 6-3
- Elena Rybakina beat Mayar Sherif: 6-3, 6-2
