Naomi Osaka picks up disappointing 2R loss after big 1R win over Ons

Naomi Osaka failed to back up her huge win over Ons Jabeur after the four-time Grand Slam champion suffered a disappointing Toronto second-round loss to Elise Mertens. 

On Thursday evening in Toronto, Osaka struggled to impose her game and rhythm and 35th-ranked Mertens made the most out of it to upset the Japanese 6-3 6-4. 

For Osaka, this performance and loss was particularly disappointing simply because of the fact that just a day earlier she earned one of the best wins of her season after dismantling three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur 6-3 6-1.

But unlike in the Jabeur match, Osaka didn’t start well against Mertens as although she managed to recover from an early break down, she lost her service again in the eighth game before the Belgian served out for the first set in the following game.

The second set was pretty much the same as the first set since Mertens claimed an early but Osaka managed to get the break back. Then, Osaka allowed Mertens to get another break in the seventh game and that was enough for the world No. 35 to seal a two-set win. 

What Osaka said after the loss to Mertens?

Following the loss, Osaka admitted that she wasn’t doing certain things right.

“I think, honestly, I feel I could have put a little bit of, a little bit more into the groundstrokes. I think I got a little bit caught up in being consistent and being, I guess, in the rallies. I think, I don’t know, it’s tough because playing against her, you don’t necessarily hit winners right away, you have to open up the court, and I feel like I kind of got into the rhythm of potentially not hitting winners and, yeah, I maybe started playing her game a bit more, but not too mad at it, actually,” Osaka explained. 

Now, Osaka will turn her focus to Cincinnati, which starts next week.