Two-time champion Naomi Osaka On Friday, the defense of the US Open ended in tears. She lost to Canadian Laila Fernandez 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4 in the third round and told reporters that she planned to suspend the sport.
“I think I’m trying to figure out what I want to do now. Honestly, I don’t know when the next tennis match will start,” she said, tearing down her face at the press conference after the match, pulling the edge of the sun visor to On the eyes.
“I think I will temporarily stop the game.”
Since she withdrew from the French Open earlier this year and disclosed her struggle with depression, she participated in her first Grand Slam tournament. Osaka returned to Flushing Meadows and did not go as planned because she was in the second. Uncharacteristically, he lost his composure in the tiebreaker and left the court without saying a word.
As Fernandez scored five points in the tiebreaker, in a series of wonderful games, the third seed hit her racket and then threw the racket twice on the court in frustration.
Osaka received no warnings or violations and left the court between the two sets.
“I’m really sorry,” she said. “I told myself to calm down, but I think there might be a boiling point.
“As usual, I think I like challenges. But recently when things don’t go well, I feel very anxious, I think you can feel it. I’m not sure why it happened the way it is now.”
Her troubles continued. The 18-year-old Canadian broke her serve in the third set and Osaka hit the ball into the stands in the second game, which caused a warning from the referee.
In the ninth game, Osaka went straight to serve, and even without waiting for the audience to calm down, he could not create a break point opportunity in the final set.
As a fan favorite, Osaka has been struggling to cope with unbalanced matches since he withdrew from the French Open earlier this year, as match officials quarreled publicly for asking the media to show up, which she said had a negative impact on her mental health.
She told fans that she had been battling depression for many years, Spark new discussions about mental health In professional sports.
“How do I say this everywhere? I feel like to me lately, I am not happy when I win. I feel more like a relief. Then when I lose, I feel very sad, Osaka said.
“I don’t think this is normal.”
Fernandez breakthrough
For Fernandez, this was a breakthrough performance. She entered the fourth round of a major for the first time, just a few days away from her 19th birthday.
She defeated 28 winners in three sets and stated in a TV interview that she was “just looking for a solution” during the game.
Fernandez said of Osaka: “She is an excellent server. She hits the ball from the left, right and center.”
Fernandez will face the 2016 German champion Angelique Kerber next.
(Reporting by Amy Tannery in New York; Editing by William Mallard)
