Osaka cruises past Golubic to reach third round in Tokyo

Naomi Osaka proved untroubled by her newfound status as the top-ranked player in the women’s draw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Tennis Event, easing through to the third round at the Ariake Tennis Park on Monday.

Following world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty’s surprise exit at the hands of Spaniard Sara Sorrbes Tormo yesterday, the 23-year-old home favourite proved rock solid in her first career meeting with Swiss Viktorija Golubic, triumphing 6-3 6-2 in just 65 minutes.

The reigning Australian and US Open champion is making her first competitive appearance on court in almost two months in Tokyo, but there have been few signs of rustiness on her return in straight-sets wins over China’s Zheng Saisai and world No. 50 Golubic.

Osaka’s assured start to the event is born out of pressure from within, she told assembled press on Monday.

“I put this pressure on myself to do well because I know that I don’t play that many tournaments,” said Osaka. “For me, I feel like I’ve watched these players playing the tournaments while I was on my break, so I just really, really want to do well.”

Osaka, who is bidding to become the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal at the Games here in Tokyo, is choosing to live in the moment rather than fixate on the potential prize in store.

“I feel like, as long as I work hard, relatively keep my head down, then good things will happen,” she added. “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.”

Osaka benefitted from overcast, cooler conditions on Centre Court than have been the case through the opening two days of the tournament, and easily overpowered her Swiss opponent.

She broke in the eighth game of the first set and bar several elegant winners from Golubic, including a deft lunging drop-shot and a sweet lob that both drew applause from Osaka, the world No. 2 always had the answer.

Golubic finally snapped a seven-game losing streak for 1-4 in the second, but the damage was done. Osaka cooly closed out the win and her place in the third round - against either Czech Marketa Vondrousova or Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu. 

For Golubic, who remains in contention for a medal in the doubles alongside Belinda Bencic, defeat meant time to reflect. And she was still able to find the positives having played the world No. 2, the face of these Games, on such a significant stage at her debut Olympics.

“It was special of course," admitted the Swiss. "It’s the Olympics, so I think it was even a little more emotional. I’m kind of really disappointed now because I’m not that satisfied with my performance. I think I could have done a little more.

"Obviously it was super nice to play, even without the crowd, though I think we both missed them, but still, it was a very, very nice experience.”