Japan’s Naomi Osaka returns a shot to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
NEW YORK — Just when it seemed she had made a comeback in her U.S. Open match with just one point left in the third set, Naomi Osaka suddenly lost her way Thursday night, missed forehand after forehand, abandoned the game and threw her racket, sending it crashing down on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Shortly afterwards, Osaka was eliminated from the tournament where she has won two of her four Grand Slam titles, losing 6-3, 7-6 (5) to Karolina Muchova in the second round.
Article continues after this ad
“It’s a little tough because I take losses really personally. That’s a dramatic word, but every time I lose, I feel like my mind dies,” said Osaka, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. “It’s really tough, but I’ve been trying to become more mature and learn more about and talk about losing.”
Read: US Open: Naomi Osaka wins first top 10 title in over four years
Osaka, once ranked number one in the world but missing nearly a year and a half due to a mental health break and maternity leave, is now ranked 88th in the world. She struggled early on, losing five straight matches and losing 22 of 26 points in a row.
Article continues after this ad
But Osaka played much better in the second set, scoring the only break of the match to take a 5-4 lead and yelling “Go for it!” when Muchova hit a forehand into the net, as the crowd cheered Osaka on.
Serving that set, Osaka hit the fastest ace of the match at 119 mph to take a 40-love lead, giving her three chances to force a third set. But that’s when things really started to go wrong for Osaka, who made five forehand errors, including a double fault, squandered all three set points and, to make matters worse, got broken.
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic shakes hands with Naomi Osaka of Japan after their victory in the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
“The pressure moments were nerve-wracking, especially on a really big stage, but maybe I just need to play more matches and get used to that feeling,” Osaka said. “Honestly, I feel like I could have played better if I could get past this disappointment, but I’m proud of the opportunities I had.”
Going into the tiebreak, Muchova held the upper hand, using a scrambling defense on the final point to tuck the ball over the net and set up Osaka to hit a swinging volley.
Read: Naomi Osaka in good shape as she returns to the US Open
“It’s incredible, the atmosphere, the people – just incredible energy,” said Muchova, 28, from the Czech Republic.
She had a breakout season in 2023, reaching the final of the French Open but losing to Iga Swiatek and the semifinals of the U.S. Open but losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff. But not long after her strong showing at Flushing Meadows, Muchova withdrew from the tour with a right wrist injury that led to surgery in October.
She was sidelined until June this year, and her only return to Grand Slam competition came with a first-round exit at Wimbledon last month.
“Honestly, the biggest victory for me this year is just being able to play again,” Muchova said. “To be in this stadium again is just the best feeling.”
On a chilly night with temperatures dropping to the 70s after topping 90 on Wednesday afternoon, Muchova looked nothing like the player currently ranked 52nd.
Osaka was unable to control the on-court exchanges as she used a pen to jot down her thoughts in a notebook during the changeovers.
Osaka’s groundstrokes were never as flawless as they were in her 6-3, 6-2 win over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday, when she didn’t make a single unforced error until the second set and won against a top-10 ranked opponent for the first time in more than four years.
But if Osaka played decently here, Muchova played superbly, whether it was serve-and-volley, mixing in slices, finding her spot on the serve or powering up when she wanted.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
The subscription was successfully completed.
From the moment Osaka led 3-2, everything was going in Muchova’s favor for the rest of the set, and then, just as it seemed Osaka was getting back in the match with thousands of spectators cheering her on, her forehand let her down.
