The Japanese Naomi Osaka was eliminated by the Chinese Quinwen Zheng in the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome on May 13, 2024 TIZIANA FABI / AFP
The Japanese Naomi Osaka, back on the circuit this year after a 16-month break during which she became a mother, was dominated by the Chinese Quinwen Zheng 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome , Monday.
Osaka, former world No.1 now 173rd in the WTA rankings, was betrayed by her service which she conceded four times.
His Roman week, however, bodes well before Roland-Garros (May 26-June 9), the high point of the season on clay which is not his favorite surface.
Until her defeat against Zheng, she had three consecutive victories on dirt, for only the third time in her career after Stuttgart in 2017 and 2019.
“I’m happy with my tournament, it’s been a long time since I played so well on clay. In fact, I’ve never played well on clay, so I can be satisfied with this tournament,” Osaka explained. who, after his victory in the second round, compared his progress on earth “to the first steps of a baby giraffe”.
The Chinese Qinwen Zheng qualified for the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome by beating the Japanese Naomi Osaka on May 13, 2024 / Tiziana FABI / AFP
“I hadn’t played for a long time against a player in the top 10 in the world (…) I’m going to learn a lot from this match, in particular that the level is not that different,” he said. -she adds.
For his part, Zheng reached the quarter-finals at the Foro Italico for the second year in a row.
The 7th in the world, finalist of the 2024 Australian Open, will face the Spaniard Paola Badosa (126th) or the American Coco Gauff (3rd) in the next round.
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