By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 25, 2021
Naomi Osaka powered into the third round with a straight sets triumph over Viktorija Golubic.
Photo Source: Getty
Two up, two down and it feels like Naomi Osaka is just getting started at the Tokyo Olympics. The No.2 seed blasted past Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic, the World No.49, in short order on Monday at Tokyo, notching a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 65 minutes to reach the third round, where she will face either Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic or Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania.
“I feel like, as long as I work hard, relatively keep my head down, then good things will happen,” Osaka said, according to ITF Tennis. “For me, it’s a dream to be here, to play the Olympics. This is my first time. I’m just trying to cherish this experience.”
It’s been an impressive start from the service stripe from Osaka through two rounds. The four-time Grand Slam champion has lost just 12 first-serve points through two rounds, and she has saved all seven break points she faced.
On Monday Osaka needed to save just one against Golubic, and she powered 13 forehand winners against just 11 total unforced errors.
Osaka has hammered 27 forehand winners through two matches—43 in total from the ground—in her two victories in Tokyo. She has dropped only ten games.
The World No.2 is playing her first competitive tennis since she announced her withdrawal from Roland Garros due to mental health reasons. That controversial moment left the tennis world wondering about her short and long term future, and her decision not to play Wimbledon only heightened the intrigue.
But the 23-year-old appears to have enjoyed the time off and says she’s replenished and feeling focused, despite all the pressure that she is under as one of the faces of the Olympic Games, and Japan's best hopes of a medal in tennis.
After her win over Golubic Osaka took to Twitter to say: "I'm here for a good time."
“I feel definitely a little bit refreshed, and I’m happy again,” Osaka told reporters after her win over Zheng on Sunday. “More than anything else, I’m just focused on playing tennis. The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I feel like the break that I took was very needed.
Straight Sets the Theme on Monday for the Women
Seeds flew through their second-round matches early on Monday in Tokyo. No.7 seed Garbine Muguruza routed China’s Wang Qiang, 6-3, 6-0, No.8 seed Barbora Krejcikova stopped Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 6-4 and No.13 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova crushed Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-1, 6-1.
No.14 seed Maria Sakkari topped Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic, 6-1, 6-2, No.15 seed Elena Rybakina shredded Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-3, while unseeded Camila Giorgi toppled Russia’s Elena Vesnina, 6-3, 6-1.