Naomi Osaka had a heartbreaking end to her Madrid Open run as she lost a thriller, while Coco Gauff impressively started her campaign at Caja Magica by registering her first double-bagel win.
After clinching her first clay win in two years on Wednesday, Osaka came close to beating No. 15 seed Liudmila Samsonova but fell just short as the Russian sealed a 6-2 4-6 7-5 win. The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes and, while it was encouraging for Osaka to have managed to get back in the match, it was certainly very disappointing to lose in the end.
On the other side, No. 3 seed Gauff absolutely destroyed world No. 47 Arantxa Rus, claiming a 6-0 6-0 win. For Gauff, this was the first time in her career that she won a match without a single lost game and it took her 51 minutes.
How Osaka lost a thriller to Samsonova?
Osaka got off to a very slow start to the match as she suffered back-to-back breaks and lost the opening four games of the match before Samsonova routinely closed out the set in the eighth game.
At the start of the second set, Osaka’s poor display continued as Samsonova earned an early break and a 2-0 lead. Down by a set and a break, Osaka managed to get the break back but again dropped…
