Tsitsipas, Osaka crash out; Djokovic advances with ease
Tennis matches began on the Olympic stage in the Summer Games 2020 on July 24, which included a few upsets but mostly triumphs.
Tennis events at Tokyo Olympics 2020 have just begun, but there have been some major upsets already.
India’s tennis contingent has failed to make any mark and the country’s campaign ended on Tuesday (July 27) as Sania Mirza and Sumit Nagal could not make the cut for the mixed doubles event due to their low combined ranking of 153.
The most significant upset at Tokyo though was the loss of four-time major champion and world no.2 Naomi Osaka of Japan, who conceded a victory to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic (6-1, 6-4) in the third round of women’s tennis singles at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday (July 27). One of the biggest names in the world of tennis, Osaka was a medal hope for the host nation.
On the men’s front, Japan’s Ken Nishikori is still a contender with his straight-set (7-6, 6-0) triumph over Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka in the third round on July 28. Nishikori, alongside Ben McLachlan, will be gearing for their doubles quarter-final match against Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, scheduled for today.
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World no. 1 Novak Djokovic bested Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in straight-sets (6-3, 6-1). He will face Nishikori in the quarter-final. Djokovic is already an Olympic medallist with a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games. A gold medal would add a feather to his already stellar career.
Among the younger generation of tennis stars, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev are still in contention. Medvedev broke India’s heart by beating Sumit Nagal in the second round in straight sets (6-2, 6-1). He has advanced to the quarter-finals after his victory over the Italian Fabio Fognini. Zverev joins Medvedev as quarter-final contender since he beat Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvii in straight sets that climaxed in a tiebreaker.
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Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, another young gun in the tennis world, unfortunately bode farewell to his Olympic journey in the singles division after losing to Frenchman Ugo Humbert in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 2-6). However, all is not lost for the Greek as he will play his first-round mixed doubles match alongside Maria Sakkari today.
A few days back, Sania Mirza-Ankita Raina combine crashed out in the first round of the women’s doubles, losing to Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok and Lydumyla Kichenok 6-0, 6-7 (0), [8-10].
