Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka had to interrupt her first press conference since May in tears.

After answering a local reporter's question about her troubled relationship with media representatives at the WTA tournament in Cincinnati, the 23-year-old Osaka got emotional and left the podium, but continued the media round after a break.

The reporter introduced the question with "You don't particularly love dealing with the media ..." First of all, the second in the world rankings reacted calmly and with a detailed answer. When a question about the earthquake disaster in Haiti with thousands of victims followed, Osaka burst into tears. Your father is from Haiti. The moderator stopped the press conference, Osaka wiped the tears from her face and came back to the podium shortly afterwards. "Sorry I went out," she said. The press conference continued with the same question.

When asked about the disaster in the Caribbean with almost 1,300 deaths, Osaka promised even more support for the earthquake victims in Haiti. The daughter of a Haitian and a Japanese woman doesn't just want to donate the prize money she earned in Cincinnati. “I could do more and try to find out how I can use my energy,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner, who announced at the French Open, to the usual media rounds “out of self-care” with a view to her mental health dispense.

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Osaka, the great Japanese hope, was once again in the focus of attention. First as the last torchbearer who was allowed to light the Olympic flame, then sportily through the gold dream that had already burst in the round of 16. "I'm sad about how I did," said the world number two in retrospect. “But I was happy with the experience, lighting the fire was fun. It will remain a great memory for me. "

Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber started her preparation for the US Open with a victory.

The 33-year-old from Kiel won her first round duel with Maria Sakkari from Greece 6: 2, 6: 2 at the tournament in Cincinnati on Monday (local time).

In the second round she will now face number four seeded Jelina Switolina from Ukraine, who won bronze at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

For Kerber it was the first match on the tennis tour since the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

The German number one had decided not to participate in the Olympics because of a thigh injury.

The tournament in Cincinnati is endowed with a good 1.8 million dollars and serves to prepare for the last Grand Slam of the year, which begins in New York in two weeks.

Dominik Koepfer won the German first-round duel with Jan-Lennard Struff at the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. The 27-year-old from Donaueschingen won the game against the four-year-old Warsteiner 7: 6 (7: 2), 5: 7 and 6: 3 on Monday evening. Koepfer failed in the qualification, but at short notice moved up into the main field as a so-called lucky loser for the Australian John Millman. In the fight for a place in the round of 16, the world number 59 hits. now on the number seven seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev initially had a bye at the preparatory event for the US Open. The 24-year-old from Hamburg will face either the South African Lloyd Harris or the Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the tournament in the US state of Ohio. The last Grand Slam tournament of the season begins in New York in two weeks.