WTA Cincinnati: Osaka and Bencic lose early, Pliskova beats Venus Williams
Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic were eliminated in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Next is Karolina Pliskova , who prevailed against Venus Williams .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 16, 2022, 08:26 pm
Naomi Osaka is still not getting going on the North American hard courts: After the Japanese failed early on in San Jose (round of 16) and Toronto (first round), she also had to accept a quick bankruptcy at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati: four times Grand Slam winner was defeated by Shuai Zhang in the first round 4:6 and 5:7.
Unlike in Toronto, where Osaka had given up against Kaia Kanepi in the second set due to back problems, she seemed in full possession of her strength in Ohio. However, the 24-year-old didn't perform well and had to congratulate her opponent after 75 minutes of play. Zhang meets Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round.
Cirstea defeats Bencic
With Belinda Bencic, another renowned player had to pack her bags. The reigning Olympic champion lost to Sorana Cirstea 2:6, 7:6 (3) and 4:6. The Romanian is now dealing with Petra Kvitova.
However, there were no surprises in the second match of the day on Center Court: Karolina Pliskova defeated Venus Williams 7:5 and 6:1 after an extremely hard-fought first set. The Czech now meets Elise Mertens: The Belgian had no problems with Anhelina Kalinina in the 6-1 and 6-1 wins.