US Open: After the defeat, Osaka grants insights into their soul life

Status: 1:31 p.m.| Reading time: 3 minutes

Ttitle defender Naomi Osaka let her emotions run free. Osaka burst into tears at the press conference after the three-set defeat against the 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez. Completely dissolved, the world number three announced when appearing in front of media representatives in New York: “I think I’ll pause playing for a while.”

The world number three left the time for returning to the tour open. Osaka had made public a good three months ago that she was suffering from phases of depression. At the French Open in Paris, she initially announced that she did not want to attend media rounds. After her victory in the first round, she even withdrew from the tournament.

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The 23-year-old then skipped tournaments for almost two months, including the grass classic at Wimbledon. She made her comeback at the Olympic Games in her home town of Tokyo, where the local hero was eliminated disappointingly early in the round of 16. Earlier, Osaka had lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony.

Bat throw in the third set

Now the US-raised athlete confessed on Friday in New York that victories would no longer make her happy. “It feels more like a relief,” she said. “And then when I lose, I am very sad. I don’t think that’s normal. ”Then Osaka turned to her future plans. “I feel like I’m at this point trying to figure out what I want to do. And to be honest, I don’t know when I’ll be playing my next tennis match. “

The elimination at the last Grand Slam tournament of the year against Fernandez, number 73 in the world rankings, came as a surprise. The co-favorite to win the tournament acted in 7: 5, 6: 7 (2: 7) and 4: 6 erratic, made a number of careless mistakes and partly let her frustration run free. In the third set she threw her club several times on the hard court and crept with her head down over the course in Flushing Meadows.

Osaka’s conqueror meets Kerber

Osaka later said she had tried in vain to remain calm. “I usually like challenges, but lately I’ve been feeling very insecure when things aren’t going so well for me, and I have the feeling that you can feel that too.” On the pitch, she felt “like a little child” behavior.

For teenage Fernandez, on the other hand, it is the greatest success of her young career. The left-hander reached the round of 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. “I’ll do another show and see what comes out of it,” announced Fernandez to thunderous applause in the Arthur Ashe Stadium before her round of 16 against Angelique Kerber.

The Kielerin defeated the American Sloane Stephens in a high-class match with 5: 7, 6: 2 and 6: 3 and is the last remaining German in the women’s tournament.

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