Naomi OsakaHer home title defense at the Pan Pacific Open ended on Thursday as the former world No 1 withdrew ahead of her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia due to abdominal pain.
“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t compete today,” Osaka said in a statement. “It’s been an honor to compete at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in front of the amazing fans in Japan. It has always been and always will be a special tournament for me and I wish I could step out onto the court, but my chances are. Maybe I won’t let me. I’ll see you next year.”
It was the latest defeat for the 24-year-old, who has been sidelined for an entire season on the pitch with an Achilles injury and missed the first round in Toronto with a back problem as he led the US Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion won the Pan Pacific Open when it was last held in 2019 in her hometown of Osaka.
In the quarterfinals, Brazil’s Haddad Maia will face the 4th seed Veronika Kudermetovawho dominated the Mexican qualifiers Fernanda Contreras Gomez 6-0, 6-1.
In the other matches of the second round, Petra Martic sad friday seed Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-4 and, in a match of undisguised players, Liudmila Samsonova surpass China Xinyu Wang 7-6 (5), 6-3.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, Martic will play China Zhang ShuaiSamsonova faces the third seed Garbine Muguruzaand of America Claire Liu meet China Qinwen Zheng.
Martic kept her cool as 2018 champion Pliskova lost her. The former world No. 1 was not at his peak while Martic played consistently throughout, breaking serve twice in each set, including the final games of each set. Pliskova awarded the victory to her tall junior hand with her fifth double fault.
“Karolina is a great player and she has beaten me many times in the past, so I expect a tough game,” said Martic. “So I’m just happy to have won it.”
Martic won around the time it started to rain right at the end of the second set. A third assembly will be located under the roof of the Ariake Arena.
“I was hoping we would play outdoors because it’s an outdoor tournament, but at the time of the match it started to rain really hard, so I was really happy to get that point,” said Martic. .
Samsonova outperformed Wang as both players were fierce throughout. Samsonova hit three aces to end the tiebreak in the first set. In the second set, her high-pressure play broke Wang in game eight and she ended the match with a 13th ace.
“She played brilliantly,” Samsonova said. “She’s been a great player, but my serves were enough to keep my game going.”
Contreras Gomez has no answer for Kudermetova’s clinical effectiveness, as good parts of the game have seen her beat the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round abandoned her. Kudermetova did not misplace a foot but faced opposition from Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
