© Getty Images Sport – Phil Walter
Naomi Osaka exited the Australian Open in the first round after losing to Caroline Garcia in her first post-pregnancy match at the Grand Slam level.
On Monday, two-time Australian Open champion Osaka made her return to Melbourne Park by taking on former world No. 4 Garcia. In her return to Rod Laver Arena, Osaka competed extremely well and fought hard but still fell short to Garcia as the 2022 WTA Finals champion beat the Japanese 6-4 7-6 (2).
In the fifth game, Osaka blew two consecutive game points before Garcia earned her first break point and realized it to go 3-2 up. Garcia missed out on two consecutive break points in the seventh game but one break of serve was enough for the Frenchwoman, who served out for the first set in the 10th game.
After not a single break point was seen in the second set, a tie-break was needed to resolve the set. Through the opening four points of the tie-break, the two players were tied to two points apiece. What was a pretty tight second set without much separating the two, ended with Garcia winning the next five points and completing a two-set win over Osaka.
