It should be obvious to Naomi Osaka at this point in her career that she needs to do better when playing on clay and grass because she is not very good on either surface.
In a grass-court practice match for Wimbledon in July, the Japanese player, ranked sixth, lost three sets to Zheng Qinwen of China on June 18 in the WTA 500 Berlin event.
Zheng, who finished runner-up at the Australian Open this season, humiliated Osaka 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to force a clash with Czech Katerina Siniakova in the round of 16.
The two had only recently faced off, with the Chinese emerging victorious in a straight-set match at the Italian Open clay in May.
One of the best players of all time is Naomi Osaka. She hits hard and has a good serve. Playing against her is never easy,” Zheng, who hit a WTA season-high 23 aces, remarked.
To be honest, I don’t care who I play for. I’ve now played her on every surface. She will be a formidable foe in the opening round. I’m glad I tried my hardest today.
Zheng now holds a 2-1 advantage in their head-to-head record after winning on clay and grass but losing in San Jose in 2022 on hard courts.
Osaka’s loss came after she was defeated 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) by Canadian Bianca Andreescu on June 14 in the’s-Hertogenbosch grass-court event quarterfinals.
With two Grand Slam victories apiece in the Australian and US Opens, the former world No. 1 has none on the other two surfaces.
She needs to miraculously regain form before the third Grand Slam of 2024 at the All England Club, as she has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon or the French Open.
On June 17, Australian Jordan Thompson upset the seventh-seeded Holger Rune in the first round of the men’s tennis competition at the Queen’s Club in London.
Thompson overcame a set down to defeat his Dane opponent, a previous season semifinalist, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
After overcoming two match points in a lengthy third-set tie-break, Milos Raonic—a former Wimbledon runner-up—beat Cameron Norrie of Britain 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (11-9).
The Canadian has dropped from third place in the world rankings to 186 due to injuries. The 33-year-old still has one of the strongest serves in the game, though, having sunk a record-tying 47 aces in a best-of-three ATP encounter.
Raonic’s thunderbolts, which could reach speeds of up to 225 km/h, proved to be too much for Norrie. The ATP said that Raonic stated he “needed every single one of those” aces.
He remarked, “This little record is something special and meaningful.” Reuters and AFP