The host country’s superstar, Naomi Osaka, is out of Tokyo2020.
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, reacts after losing a point to Marketa Vondrousova, of the Czech Republic, during the third round of the tennis competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
As the highest-paid female athlete in the world and the host country's poster-girl for the Games, the huge expectations were hard to handle. “It’s tough for her also playing in Japan and in the Olympics,” the 42nd-ranked Vondrousova said. “It’s so much pressure, I cannot imagine.” The next day, Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros entirely to take a mental health break, revealing she has dealt with depression.“I’ve taken long breaks before and I’ve managed to do well," said Osaka, who initially did not comment after her loss, then came back out and met with a small group of reporters."I’m not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher.
Osaka then broke Vondrousova’s serve in the opening game of the second set but almost immediately handed the break back when she double-faulted to make it 2-2. Osaka had break points to take a 4-3 lead in the second but Vondrousova hit consecutive drop-shot winners to get back in the game. And then held.“I just really believed the second I stepped on the court," Vondrousova said. “I think that that’s the main thing.”
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