Australian Open: Naomi Osaka returns to Slam third round for 1st time in 3 years

Naomi Osaka’s second round match at the Australian Open could not have started worse. A full 21 minutes in, he sailed a forehand service return and trailed 5-0 just like that.

Osaka walked to the sideline for a changeover, lowered himself down and tied a white towel around his head, blocking all sights and leaving him with only his thoughts. He stayed that way throughout the breaks between games, even running a water bottle under that towel to grab a drink.

This was not a match against an unknown opponent, Osaka knew for sure that he could lose. It was 20th seed Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up and three-time semi-finalist at other majors, including at Melbourne Park in 2021.

Muchova also defeated Osaka in their most recent two matches. None of that mattered this afternoon, though: Osaka overcame that disappointing start and bounced back to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday.

What was his mindset? “Just be aware and try not to be so negative on yourself. I think, for me, the score in the first set was very dramatic, but the main point was that maybe I could have won a game here or there,” Osaka explained. “So I keep trying to tell myself that.”

It was, in some ways, a landmark moment for Osaka, who once reigned at the top of women’s tennis, winning four Grand Slam titles — two at the Australian Open, two at the US Open — and climbing to No. 1 in the WTA rankings. The win allowed him to reach the third round of a major tournament for the first time since the 2022 season.

Reaching that stage was not considered a big deal for him at one time. But a break in mental health and then a leave due to a pregnancy – Osaka’s daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023 – changed things.

Since returning to action a year ago, Osaka has shown signs of getting her game back together, including a memorable and narrow loss to then-No. 1 Iga Suatec at the French Open. This, however, follows a win over 2022 US Open semi-finalist Caroline Garcia in Melbourne and means progress is real.

“It was definitely something I aimed for, especially after last year; I was not able to beat a seed in a Grand Slam,” said Osaka. “I’m obviously very grateful that this happened earlier this year.”

He also joked about gaining a measure of “revenge” by beating Garcia – who eliminated Osaka in Melbourne a year ago – and Muchova in straight matches.

Osaka’s next match is against Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, who is a mother; Her daughter Bella was born last year. Both Osaka and Bencic are big hitters.

“It’s going to be a fun match,” Bencic said.

Muchova was not the highest-ranked player to depart on Wednesday. It was No. 5 Zheng Qinwen, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 Australian Open and gold medalist at the Paris Games last August. Zheng lost a bit of focus after being called for a time violation and couldn’t handle the strokes of 97th-ranked Laura Sigmund in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss at John Cain Arena.

After the chair umpire cited him for taking too long to serve, Zheng hit his next offering so badly that it bounced before reaching the net.

“I knew,” said the 36-year-old Sigmund, “I had to play more than my best tennis.”

The player who beat Zheng in the final 12 months ago, No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, extended her Melbourne Park winning streak to 16 matches as she beat No. 54 Jessica Bojas Maneiro 6-3, 7 to claim her third straight title. 5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Other women’s winners included No. 3 Coco Gough, No. 7 Jessica Pegula, No. 14 Mirra Andreeva and No. 30 Leila Fernandez. Goff, the 2023 US Open champion who has won seven matches played this season, now faces Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up.

Novak Djokovic added to his record collection by playing his 430th career Grand Slam match – one more than Roger Federer – and, although he dropped a set for the second consecutive outing with new coach Andy Murray by his side, went to Jaime Faria 6-1 in the third. , won the game 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2.

Among the other men to advance was No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who joked that he was now a “serve bot” after knocking out Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 after hitting 14 breaks.

“Service is about confidence and feeling,” Alcaraz said. “I feel great today.”

The seeded losers included No. 6 Kasper Rudd, a three-time major finalist; No. 22 Sebastian Korda and No. 27 Jordan Thompson.

Rudd lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to 19-year-old Jakub Mencic of the Czech Republic. Mencic equaled his best Grand Slam showing by reaching the third round and joined 18-year-old Joao Fonseca — who upset No. 9 Andrey Rublev on Tuesday — as the first pair of teenagers to defeat top-10 men in the same Grand Slam since Djokovic and Murray did so at Wimbledon in 2006. Tournament since.