Naomi Osaka suffers disappointing 2R loss after big 1R win over Ons Jabeur

Naomi Osaka was unable to make good on her big win over Ons Jabeur after the four-time Grand Slam champion suffered a disappointing second-round loss to Elise Mertens.

On Thursday evening in Toronto, Osaka struggled to impose her game and rhythm, but the 35th-ranked Mertens made the most of it and defeated the Japanese 6-3 6-4.

For Osaka, this performance and loss was particularly disappointing, as she had just one of her biggest wins of the season the day before, beating three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur 6-3 6-1.

But unlike the match against Jabeur, Osaka did not start well against Mertens. Although she managed to recover from an early slump, she lost her serve again in the eighth game, before the Belgian served out the first set in the next game.

The second set was much the same as the first as Mertens claimed an early one but Osaka managed to claw back the break. Osaka then gave Mertens another break in the seventh game and that was enough for the world number 35 to secure a straight sets victory.

What did Osaka say after the loss to Mertens?

After the loss, Osaka admitted that she did some things wrong.

“I think, honestly, I could have put a little bit, a little bit more into the groundstrokes. I think I got a little bit stuck in being consistent and, I think, in the rallies. I think, I don’t know, it’s tough because you’re playing her, you’re not necessarily hitting winners right away, you have to open up the field, and I feel like I’ve gotten into a little bit of a rhythm of maybe not hitting winners and, yeah, maybe playing her game a little bit more, but I’m not too upset about it, actually,” Osaka explained.

Now Osaka will turn its attention to Cincinnati, which starts next week.