No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka came out on top of a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2 battle with defending champion Suzan Lamens to reach the Kinoshita Group Japan Open quarterfinals, but suffered an injury scare in the closing stages of the match that left her limping off court.
Osaka: Scores | Draws | Order of play
A high-quality contest had seen Osaka respond well to Lamens’ challenge, raising her level to pull away from the surging Dutchwoman in the third set. But with Lamens serving down 5-0 but up 30-15, Osaka pulled up on her left leg. Lamens sprayed a backhand wide on that point, but won the next, and at 40-30 to Lamens, Osaka requested a medical time-out.
Returning to the court with her left thigh strapped and with her movement significantly hampered, a visibly distressed Osaka attempted to close the match out with first-strike tennis that bypassed extended rallies. She was unable to take two match points on her own serve at 5-1, double faulting on the first and netting a backhand on the second. However, she was able to get over the line on return, summoning up a backhand winner to convert her third match point.
“It was definitely really difficult — I’m kind of sorry about my attitude,” Osaka said in an on-court interview that had to be cut short due to her leg pain.
In press, Osaka was hopeful that she could continue in the tournament.
“I took Advils, so I think it feels better than what it is right now, but obviously it doesn’t feel good,” she said. “I couldn’t really move that well. It’s not good, but I think I’m a fast healer so it should be OK for my next match.”
Prior to the injury, Osaka had managed to raise her level in key moments to take control of the contest. Both players took their time to fully settle — Lamens lost the first eight points of the match, including consecutive double faults to open her first service game; Osaka then conceded nine straight points to go down a break. Lamens threw in an error-strewn game when attempting to serve the set out at 5-4, and at 5-5 in the ensuing tiebreak Osaka played her best point of the set to inch ahead.
Lamens swiftly put the disappointment behind her, finding her form with her lethal forehand to take the second set. At the start of the third, the 26-year-old seemed poised to pull away after winning the best point of the match, ending a 19-stroke lung-buster with a thumping forehand winner on the line. Osaka responded immediately. On the very next point, she came up with a hot shot of her own, ending a 12-stroke athletic exchange with a superb backhand angle.
“Emotionally, I was going through a lot in this match,” Osaka said. “And then in the third set I tried my best to have no regrets.”
Osaka is scheduled to face Jaqueline Cristian in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Romanian rebounded from a first-set whitewash to defeat No. 8 seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 0-6, 6-4, 6-2, avenging a first-round loss to the Spaniard in Beijing three weeks ago.
AloJapan.com