Tokyo Olympics: Japan’s Naomi Osaka crashes out after losing

Japan’s Naomi Osaka crashes out of the Tokyo Olympics after losing straight sets to Marketa Vondrousova

Osaka, chosen to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, lost in the third round of the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, crushing her dreams of winning Olympic gold at home. She struggled in the game at Ariake Tennis Park and was knocked out in 68 minutes.

“How disappointed am I? I mean, I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner.

Asked what went wrong, she replied: “Everything — if you watch the match then you would probably see. I feel like there’s a lot of things that I counted on that I couldn’t rely on today.”

The third-round defeat follows a turbulent few months for Osaka, who abandoned her French Open campaign in May after refusing to attend press conferences, citing the need to preserve her mental health.

Czech’s Vondrousova, who is ranked 42nd, will go on to face Spain’s Paula Badosa or Nadia Podoroska of Argentina.