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Naomi Osaka dropped out of the tennis tournament early in Tokyo
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Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
In the medal table, Japan is in an excellent position with eight gold medals so far.
Nevertheless, the Olympic host has to cope with a considerable dampening of the mood on the fourth day of the competition: The gold dream of top favorite Naomi Osaka surprisingly collapsed in the round of 16 of the Tokyo tennis tournament.
The four-time Grand Slam winner was defeated by the Czech Marketa Vondrousova after a weak performance 1: 6, 4: 6.
Osaka, which lit the Olympic flame on Friday and was supposed to be the face of the games as a superstar, was initially completely off the table after two sovereign victories in the first two rounds under the roof of the center court, which was closed due to rain.
In the first set, which lasted only 24 minutes, she made 14 unforced mistakes.
Vondrousova didn't have to do much to win the set.
In the second set Osaka improved, but gave up a break advantage.
After strong points as well as annoying mistakes Osaka showed hardly any outward movement, and the dispersion in their strokes increased again.
She was able to fend off two match points, and on the third match point she put a backhand out of bounds.
Before the Olympic Games, Osaka had taken an almost two-month break, and she played her last match at the French Open.
In Paris she had decided not to attend any media appointments and should be punished, as a result of which Osaka had dropped out of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Afterwards, she revealed that she repeatedly struggled with depression.
Japan's public planned for gold
The break was urgently needed, she said in Tokyo, "I definitely feel a little fresher and happy again."
Even so, the pressure on Osaka was immense.
Her gold medal was planned for the Japanese public.
Osaka's relationship with Japan is difficult; in the past, when she lost, she also experienced racist hostility.
This means that women’s competition is completely open.
World number one Ashleigh Barty had already failed in the opening round two weeks after her Wimbledon victory, while third-placed Wimbledon semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) was eliminated in the second round.
Also none of the three German players got past round two.
krä / sid / dpa