Naomi Osaka Suffers Defeat In Her First Grand Slam Return

Caroline Garcia got the better of Naomi Osaka in one of the most enthusiastically expected first-round matches at the Australian Open.

Osaka was beaten in straight sets by Caroline Garcia in her first Grand Slam appearance since 2022 at the Australian Open.

Osaka missed last season as she brought forth her daughter Shai in July and got back to tennis at the end of 2023.

However, Garcia, the 16th seed, defeated her 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to prevent her dream comeback to Grand Slam competition.

“I have a lot of respect for Naomi as a person and player. We all know she’s had an amazing career and she’s been through a lot,” said Garcia, who added she felt unlucky to draw Osaka in the first round.

“I’m glad to see her back and I hope she can enjoy her tennis now and have fun out there. She’s done so much for tennis and to play six months after giving birth, she’s playing quite amazing already so we have to watch out!”

The two players struck the ball well yet played free shots all through the match and in the fifth round of the first set, Garcia exploited natural mistakes from Osaka to break.

Osaka didn’t get a look at breaking back and dove somewhere down in the second set, which went to 5-5 as the two players held serve. A tie-break coaxed as neither one of the players could find the definitive break and Garcia got the first mini break to lead 5-2.

One more small split followed to set up four match points and a strike into the net from Osaka gave Garcia triumph to book a spot in the second round where she will face Poland’s Magdalena Frech.

Meanwhile, ruling US Open top dog Coco Gauff easily floated into second round with a 6-3 6-0 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to get a spot in the second round of the Australian Open.

Gauff opened procedures on Rod Laver Arena on the second day of the competition for her first Grand Slam match since she lifted the title in New York in September.

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She defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0 in precisely 60 minutes, dominating nine matches in succession to set up a second-round match with comrade Caroline Dolehide.

“I felt good,” said the 19-year-old, who was been working on her serve with former world No 1 Andy Roddick.

“I was a little bit nervous coming in today. Probably you could tell. I was able to just calm down and then play, not my best, but good tennis from that point.”

Gauff dropped just one point on her serve in the second set and said that Roddick had recently given her some serving tips.

“It was really cool,” she said. “He’s a really chill guy. I met him before but never to that level. I went to Charlotte [North Carolina] for two days. It was a really good two days. I think that my serve has improved. He’s probably one of the best servers in history.”