Article Author:
Reuters
Naomi Osaka prepares for the US Open as former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka loses 6-4, 7-5 to China's Zhang Shuai after American Coco Gauff ankles up in Tuesday's first-round match at the Cincinnati Open. He suffered another setback as he retired with an injury.
It was her third tournament return from an Achilles injury for Osaka, and it was a stuttering comeback for her two-time US Open champion Osaka, who also opened in Toronto last week. and retired due to back pain.
For Chan, last year's Cincinnati doubles champion, it was her first singles win at the event since 2014.
But I know she might not be feeling very well today," Zhang said. "But it's definitely not her best today." In her first game on the court at center 25, Japan's Osaka gave Chan a break in the opening on his serve with a double fault. and started the match off to a sluggish start.
Zhang needed it when he took the first set against his 33-year-old Chinese player and early in the second he scored a break to lead 2-1. The help was just that. Because Osaka kept misfiring.
Osaka eventually secured an elusive break to level the set as Zhang served the match at her 5-4, but her opponent quickly broke back. to regain control.
On his second serve, Zhang did not miss another chance and won with an ace.
Osaka hit her 10 aces and not much else. The four-time Grand Slam winner racked up her 29 unforced errors and only one of her four break chances resulted in a conversion.
Chan will next face Russia's Ekaterina her Alexandrova. Ekaterina Alexandrova missed the finals at last year's US Open by defeating No. 13-seeded Canadian Leila Fernandez with her 6-4, 7-5 win.
GAUFF HURT
As a teenager, Gauff rolled his left ankle late in the first set in his match against qualifier Marie Bouzkova, ultimately dropping his 7th. -5 Retired from the game trailing 1-0.
The newly number one doubles player in the world is recovering ahead of the US Open, where she will fight for her first Grand Slam title.
Flushing her major at Meadows this year begins on her August 29th.
Romania's Solana Cirstea beat Swiss Olympic champion and 12th seed Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4 to 14th seed Karolina Pliskova. defeated Venus Williams 7-5 6-1.
That game was the Williams sister's first game of her doubleheader against Cincinnati.
Serena Williams, who announced last week that she would retire after the US Open, took over her court at center late Tuesday as the 23-time Grand Slam winner emara Ducanu, the reigning Flushing Meadows champion, took an interest. Compete in her intriguing first-round clash.
Venus Williams has been eyeing a win over a top 20 opponent since beating Kiki her Bartens in Cincinnati three years ago, and beat Pliskova to give her a 3-2 lead. A half-filled center excited her court when she did.
However, the Czechs came back to tie her 4-4 and broke again to win the first set.
The 42-year-old Williams ran out of momentum and ideas in a one-sided second set, with Pliskova defeating her seven-time Grand Slam winner at first chance to take a 3-0 lead.
Williams held his serve 3-1, but 2016 Cincinnati champion Pliskova dominated his next three games to take the rout. (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
