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Naomi Osaka's path back to Grand Slam glory has hit yet another roadblock. The two-time US Open champion fell short in the second round of the DC Open to Britain's Emma Raducanu in straight sets, with her 4-6, 2-6 finish marking the latest in a string of disappointing WTA tournament losses.
Despite winning points on 88% of her first serves, Osaka nabbed points on only 43% of her second serves and had seven double faults while going 0-for-2 in break point opportunities. The mistakes may have cost her the match, but Osaka remained as positive as possible while being interviewed.
“I feel like from the baseline, I was doing pretty well,” Osaka said about her DC Open performance. “I think there are certain situations where she got one more ball back, and I was kind of just looking and waiting.”
The four-time Grand Slam champ also lost in the first round at Indian Wells in straight sets, followed by two first-round exits from the French and Berlin Opens. She made it slightly further in the grass court tournaments of Wimbledon and Bad Homburg, getting to the third and second rounds, respectively, before bowing out.
Before taking on the match, Osaka revealed that she was relatively excited to be facing the young British star for the first time in their careers.
“I've never played her before, so for me, that's something really cool, too,” Naomi Osaka said. “Because I have seen her — I guess when she first did well at Wimbledon before she won the U.S. Open, moments like that — and I knew she was a good player. So I guess for our paths to finally cross is really cool.”
Raducanu, who won points on 76% of her first serves and 61% of her second serves, was notably even more eager to take on the former World No. 1.
“I actually quite like these [kinds] of matchups, where you're playing a great opponent,” Raducanu said post-match. “A lot of people have eyes on the match. They're into it. I enjoy it. I'm just pleased with how I was able to navigate playing a four-time Slam champ.”
The World No. 46 will take on Maria Sakkari next in the DC Open's quarterfinal round.
