After shining in the first round of the 2022 Madrid Open, Naomi Osaka couldn't produce the same level in the second round, losing to Sara Sorribes Tormo.
In the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital, the former world no. 1, who received a wild card to compete in Madrid, showed her great level, beating qualifier Anastasia Potapova in two sets, 6-3, 6-1.
The Japanese player doesn't have a lot of experience with playing on clay courts, and taking on a clay specialist, and home player Sorribes Tormo, was certainly a challenge for her.
The Spaniard is a known defensive tennis player who mostly pushes the ball back as often as she can, waiting for her opponents to beat themselves by committing too many unforced errors.
Her strategy seemingly worked against the four-time major winner, as the Japanese player, who recently hit out at her haters, never looked comfortable in this match as her rhythm was broken down by Sorribes Tormo very effectively.
She has a long serving motion which makes it hard for her opponents to get into any returning rhythm. She pushed the ball back all the time, which Osaka tried to punish by going for her shots, but she was missing most of the time.
The former world no. 1 player also did not serve as well, which was a shame for her because it was one way to keep the Spaniard away from break points, especially on the court in Madrid, which benefits good servers because of the altitude, it was an achievable task for Osaka.
However, since the two-time Australian Open and US Open champion couldn't counter her opponent, she lost the match in two sets, 3-6, 1-6, breaking her opponent's serve only once, while she was broken five times in the match.
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