Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka won the first match she’s played since May, beating Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic.
Osaka hit 11 aces and saved 7 of 8 break points in the hard-court tournament that serves as a tuneup for the U.S. Open.
Osaka had not played anywhere since a first-round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open on May 23.
The former No. 1-ranked player was bothered by her left Achilles tendon during that defeat, then cited that lingering injury when she pulled out of Wimbledon in June.
Osaka won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020.
Next up for Osaka is Coco Gauff, who won her match 6-0, 6-1 over Anhelina Kalinina. Osaka leads their head-to-head series 2-1, including a victory over Gauff at the 2019 U.S. Open. Gauff was the runner-up at this year’s French Open.
Another past champion at Flushing Meadows, 2019 winner Bianca Andreescu, lost Tuesday in San Jose, beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Shelby Rogers.
In other first-round action, qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik won her WTA debut, defeating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-3, 6-3, and No. 9 seed Veronika Kudermetova beat Camila Giorgi 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
