Japan’s Naomi Osaka said she was “very scared” after watching opponent Daria Saville collapse with a knee injury just seven minutes into their match at the WTA tournament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Australia’s Daria Saville was forced to retire against Japan’s Naomi Osaka at the start of this WTA first round encounter in Tokyo after injuring her left knee when hitting a cross forehand in the second game of the first set.
The 55th player in the world shouted “my kneebefore collapsing to the ground in apparent pain, and Osaka rushed to her side of the court to see how her opponent was doing.
Daria Saville, 28, formalized her withdrawal after several minutes of treatment and Osaka, who has struggled with injuries herself this year, said she felt “really sadfor his opponent.
«I thought she was just screaming because she thought her forehand was out then I realized she was screaming because she was in paincontinued the former world number one, who is looking to end her dip in form this week in Tokyo. “Then I got really scared because I feel like as athletes we have a pretty high pain tolerance. It looked really bad».
The Aussie eventually got up and walked to her chair, but gave up after testing her knee with several footwork drills. Osaka has indicated that she thinks Saville “was going to get out“, adding that she was”a fighter».
The 24-year-old Japanese player, who has fallen to 48th in the world, will face Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round on Thursday.
«For now, I still feel a bit weird about winning a game. I feel like I haven’t won a gamesaid Osaka, who has lost in the first round of her last three tournaments.
The Japanese is the title holder in Tokyo, even if the previous edition dates back to 2019 due to the pandemic.
