11:03 am | July 1, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
WIMBLEDON, England — After winning two straight Grand Slam titles, Naomi Osaka has now failed to reach the second week at the past two majors.
Osaka, who was ranked No. 1 in the world until last week, lost to Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Monday in the first round at Wimbledon.
Also Monday, the youngest woman in the draw beat the oldest as fifteen-year-old Cori Gauff beat five-time champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round meeting between two players with a 24-year age gap on Court 1.
The 39-year-old Williams had won four of her seven Grand Slam titles before Gauff was even born in 2004.
The 313th-ranked Gauff is the youngest player to enter the main draw at Wimbledon since Laura Robson in 2009, having come through qualifying last week.
Gauff, playing in her first Grand Slam match, converted her fourth match point when Williams sent a forehand into the net, then broke into sobs before shaking hands with her opponent.
The second-seeded Osaka won the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open this year, but she lost in the third round at the French Open and now the first round at the All England Club.
“I just don’t think I played that well,” said Osaka, who also lost to Putintseva two weeks ago in Birmingham. “But I wasn’t surprised because I’ve played her, like, twice already.”
Osaka had 38 unforced errors on Centre Court, while Putintseva had only seven.
Osaka later cut short her news conference, leaving before any questions were asked in Japanese.
“Can I leave?” she asked the moderator after several short answers. “I feel like I’m about to cry.”
Simona Halep, a former No. 1 on the women’s tour who is seeded seventh at Wimbledon, advanced despite some pain in her left knee and foot. The Romanian, who called for a trainer after winning the first set, trailed 5-2 in the second set before rallying to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 7-5.
Third-seeded Karolina Pliskova also advanced, beating Lin Zhu 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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