Naomi Osaka loses in straight sets at the Australian Open as Caroline Garcia progresses to the second round

Caroline Garcia comes off victorious against Naomi Osaka to advance to the next round at the Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka loses in straight sets at the Australian Open as Caroline Garcia progresses to the second round

Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia (Image via: Imago)

Returning Japanese star Naomi Osaka’s return to Grand Slam tennis was rather short, as she experienced a first-ever Round-One exit in the Slams. She was outplayed by Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Australian Open.

Osaka, the two-time Grand Slam champion, participated in her first-ever Grand Slam on her return. She was on the sidelines last year due to personal reasons and returned after giving birth to a child. The draw was in favor of the two-time Australian Open champion, who got paired against the very experienced Caroline Garcia. 

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All predictions were on the side of Seed No. 16 Garcia to win, and she held up those expectations by beating Osaka in straight sets. Tennis experts were not much surprised by the outcome, but the fans were surely disappointed, as they hoped that the former World No. 1 would last a little longer.

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Osaka gave a strong fight against Garcia, but the strong serves from the French put the 2-time champion on the backfoot and suppressed her gameplay. 

After losing the first set, Osaka went harder in the next one but fell a little short after some outstanding displays on return. She lost 4-6, 6(2)-7 to the Frenchwoman, who put on a performance to remember. 

A humble Caroline Garcia has only praise for her opponent after a tough first-round thriller

Caroline Garcia was the star of the night as she beat the returning star Naomi Osaka in a thriller of a match. 

Caroline Garcia
Caroline Garcia (Via TImesOfIndia)

However, the Frenchwoman displayed true sportsmanship, as she had only praise for her opponent after the match. From giving her respect to the Japanese to praising her game, Garcia dazzled the Rod Laver Arena with her humbleness and regard for Osaka. 

I have a lot of respect for Naomi as a person & player. She’s had an amazing career. She was away for 15 months. She’s been through a lot. I hope she can enjoy tennis now & have fun out there.
Said Caroline Garcia to the AO press.

Furthermore, the 16th seed also revealed that she felt a little unlucky heading into the match and knew that she was up against a tough contender who had won titles in the past. 

I felt a bit unlucky, to be honest. But you do know that in the first rounds—there were so many players coming back, so you know there’s a chance that you’re going to play someone tough. But you play tennis for these kinds of matches… I was pretty excited for it. I know that it would be a memory that I would have for many years, and I wanted to enjoy it.
She further added

Osaka did win one of her last three matches on return and would only hope to work on herself and do better as the year goes on.

On the other side, Garcia comes fresh off some commendable wins at the United Cup that helped her team win many matches. The year couldn’t have started any better for the Frenchwoman, who beat a former champion and is through to the next round.

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