Tuesday’s continuation of first-round matches delivered more stunning results at the 2022 US Open.
Defending women’s singles champion Emma Raducanu and 2020 US Open champion Naomi Osaka were two of the day’s most notable casualties.
Emma Raducanu lost to Alize Cornet
The World No. 11 lost to unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet with a disappointing score of 3-6, 3-6.
Neither woman was playing their best, with Alize double faulting a whopping eight times! But you’d think Emma would have capitalized on the situation, right? Nope. Not only that, she had her own serve broken seven times. It was pretty frustrating to watch.
The Brit has struggled throughout the 2022 season, including going out in the second rounds of the other 3 Grand Slams. Still, she remains positive and looks forward to having less pressure to win in 2023.
In a post-match presser, the 19-year-old said:
Obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here. It’s probably my favorite tournament. But also, in a way, happy because it’s a clean slate. I’m going to drop down the rankings. Climb my way back up. In a way, the target will be off my back slightly. I just have another chance to claw my way back up there.
She gave us a historic run last summer.
See you soon, @EmmaRaducanu pic.twitter.com/xzMuLNghcl
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2022
Naomi Osaka lost to Danielle Collins
The 2020 US Open champion, Naomi Osaka, was also sent packing in the first round on Tuesday after losing 7-6 (5), 6-3 to American Danielle Collins.
Unlike Emma Raducanu, unseeded Naomi was considered by many to be the underdog in her match against the World No. 19 American. Both players had been plagued with injuries this summer, but Danielle bounced back, ready to kick some tennis butt!
Naomi, who didn’t play at Wimbledon this year, was also knocked out in the first round of the French Open, and with this loss, 2022 will be the first year since 2017 that the Japanese player has failed to win a Grand Slam title.
Naomi always has time for the fans
See you next year, champ. pic.twitter.com/R97NqEfKFh
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2022
In the men’s singles draw, Rafael Nadal dropped the first set against Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata before rallying back to win the match in four sets.
After Stefanos Tsitsipas’ shock exit on Monday, no other seeded men’s player was sent home on Tuesday.
Wednesday will see Serena Williams return to the court in what could be her final singles match while defending men’s champion Daniil Medvedev will also be in action.
The post US Open 2022: Defending and Former Champions Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka Both Suffer First-Round Exits appeared first on Tennis Chick Magazine.
