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Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka’s search for form on grass hit another roadblock Tuesday when she was eliminated in the second round of the Bad Homburg Open by No. 5 seed Emma Navarro, 6-4, 6-4. The 1-hour and 27-minute match marked Osaka’s second straight-sets loss to Navarro in as many grass-court meetings, following their encounter at Wimbledon last year.
Navarro, ranked No. 10 in the world, continued her strong history at Bad Homburg, reaching her third consecutive quarterfinal at the event. She won eight straight points late in the first set, including a break at love to go up 5-4, then calmly served out the set. Osaka had an opening in the second set, leading 2-1 and earning three break points at 0-40, but Navarro saved them all, one with a crisp forehand winner, to maintain control.
“I think I played a lot of good tennis. So did she, she made it really tough on me,” Navarro said after the win, as reported by WTATennis.com staff. “Definitely there’s some things to work on too, so I’ll be looking forward to improving for next round.”
Osaka managed nine aces but was hampered by inconsistency, tallying 42 unforced errors and failing to convert on key moments. Navarro, by contrast, broke Osaka three times and finished with 21 unforced errors.
The result continues a rough stretch for Osaka, who also exited early at the French Open in May and has not beaten a Top 10 player since defeating Jelena Ostapenko at last year’s US Open. Despite occasional flashes of her trademark power, Osaka has yet to string together a deep run on grass since returning from maternity leave.
Navarro will face No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.
“Jess is awesome, she’s been a really great role model for me coming up. We’ve shared a lot of great experiences on the court and off court,” Navarro said. She brings a great energy to the tour, she’s very chill, very relaxed, and very smart as well. So I have a lot to learn from her.”
Osaka meanwhile now turns her attention to Wimbledon.
