Tokyo (AFP)

She dreamed of offering Japan her first Olympic gold medal in tennis, after being the proud last torch bearer of the Tokyo Olympics, but Naomi Osaka stopped Tuesday in the round of 16.

"Each defeat disappoints me, but this one hurts more than the others," reacted the Japanese after her loss to the Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

For his return to competition after two months of absence due to psychological distress, Osaka, who had been chosen to light the Olympic cauldron on Friday during the opening ceremony, left the big favorite for the Olympic title.

But after two brilliant first rounds, where she had lost only 5 games in each of her matches, she collapsed against Vondrousova, 42nd in the world (6-1, 6-4).

"I did not manage to manage the pressure, I did what I could under these circumstances", she testified very moved in front of the press.

- "it was too much for me" -

After the elimination of the world No. 1, the Australian Ashleigh Barty on Sunday and that of Aryna Sabalenka (3rd) on Monday, it is another contender for the Olympic title who leaves prematurely in a women's table already deprived of many players , injured or having given up on the trip due to the pandemic.

This is the first time since 1988, when tennis returned to Olympic sports, that the three best players in the world have been eliminated at the Olympics before the quarter-finals.

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (6th) is now the highest ranked player still in contention.

A real star in Japan, Osaka, of a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, was eagerly awaited.

But despite her four Grand Slam titles (US Open 2018 and 2020, Australian Open 2019 and 2021), the 23-year-old has appeared fragile in recent months.

She withdrew from Roland Garros at the end of May after refusing to appear in front of the press to "preserve her sanity", before withdrawing from Wimbledon to take a break away from the courts which had, she said, "cheered up" and made "happy again".

But on Tuesday, her demons seem to have caught up with her.

"There was a lot of pressure around these Games. I felt it. Maybe for my first participation in the Olympics, it was a little too much for me," said Osaka.

- Too many errors -

Face closed, the Japanese seemed totally overwhelmed against Vondrousova, the 2019 Roland-Garros finalist, whom she was meeting for the first time.

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Under the closed roof of Ariake Tennis Park, following rain and wind from the tropical storm that hit Tokyo overnight, Osaka made too many mistakes (32 unforced errors) and was too weak on service. (64% of first balls) to hope to win.

Ceding her entry serve, she lost the first set in just 24 minutes.

And she did not manage to come back in the second round, despite a break made in the first game, an advantage quickly lost on a double fault.

Osaka did have a few chances though, such as when at 3-3, Vondrousova committed two double faults in a row, giving Osaka two break points.

"Gift" that the Japanese did not know how to exploit, allowing herself to be surprised twice by two depreciations.

After saving two match points, the world No. 2 finally lost to the third after 1:08 of play.

"Everything (went wrong), you just have to watch the game to see it. It was like all the things I usually rely on had given up on me," Osaka said.

Vondrousova was delighted to have won "the most beautiful victory of (her) career".

“Naomi is a fantastic player, she won a lot of Grand Slams so I knew it was going to be a tough game. I'm very happy with the game I managed to produce. (...) I'm happy to m 'to be out of it ".

The 22-year-old Czech will meet in the quarter-final the winner of the meeting between Spain's Paula Badosa and Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.

© 2021 AFP