In a showdown of former world No 1 women's singles players, Germany's Angelique Kerber outplayed Naomi Osaka in an Olympic first-round match on Saturday night, July 27, winning 7-5, 6-3.
At Roland-Garros Stadium, the home venue for the French Open, Kerber, 36, had just 11 unforced errors, 19 fewer than her opponent.
Osaka's greatest success as a tennis player has come on hard courts. She's captured her four Grand Slam singles titles on that surface (twice at the US Open, twice at the Australian Open).
At the French Open, the 26-year-old Osaka hasn't advanced past the third round.
After her straight-sets defeat to Kerber, Osaka expressed disappointment in the outcome.
"I guess I need to learn how to win again. Maybe that's something I forgot how to do," Osaka was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
She added, "Maybe I have to keep playing matches against really good players to relearn that."
Osaka finished with a 27-15 advantage in service winners. She had a 14-8 edge in forehand winners.
On crucial break points, Kerber converted 4 of 5.
Kerber, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic silver medalist, is retiring after the Paris Games. She's won five of seven career matches against Osaka.
"To win a match like this against Naomi, who is such a great champion — that means a lot, especially because it's my last tournament," Kerber said, according to The Associated Press. "It shows me that I can still beat the top players."
She added, "I just tried to enjoy every moment. I'm just looking forward to having another dance."
In 2021, Osaka fell in the third round at the Tokyo Games.
Draper Eliminates Nishikori in First Round
On Sunday, in men's first-round singles play, Britain's Jack Draper defeated four-time Japanese Olympian Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4.
Surfing
Matsuda Makes Olympic Debut in Tahiti
In Teahupo'o, Tahiti, the women's opening round competition got underway on Sunday morning at 6:48 AM JST. It was the first of eight first-round heats.
In the competition format, the winner of each heat advanced automatically to the third round. Meanwhile, the second- and-third place finishers in each heat moved on to round two. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals complete the tournament.
Japan's Shino Matsuda, 21, finished in second place in the eighth heat, receiving 11.16 points from the judging panel, including 8.16 for her best wave. Carissa Moore of the United States won the heat with a two-wave score of 16.50 points.
Matsuda, an Olympic debutante, is set to surf again in second-round action on Monday just after 3 AM JST.
Table Tennis
Harimoto, Hayata Upset in the Opening Round
At South Paris Arena, expected mixed doubles medalists Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata, seeded second in the tournament, were handed a 4-1 defeat by North Korea's Jong Sik Ri and Kum Yong Kim on Saturday night.
The 16th-seeded North Koreans won 11-5, 7-11, 11-14, 15-13, 12-10 to advance to the quarterfinals.
"I came into the match feeling normal but because I didn't have much information about my opponent, I got a little lost and couldn't stop the balls hit by the male player," Hayata said, according to Kyodo News.
The 24-year-old Kitakyushu native added, "I was constantly on the back foot."
Water Polo
Serbia Posts Narrow Victory Over Japan
In a men's Group B preliminary round match, Serbia edged Japan 16-15 on Sunday at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. It was the opening match at Paris 2024 for both teams.
Dusan Mandic led Serbia with seven goals. For Japan, Yusuke Inaba was the high scorer (six goals).
Japan return to the pool to play against Olympic host France on Tuesday, July 30.
Soccer
Japan Men Remain Unbeaten at Paris 2024
At Bordeaux Stadium, Japan defeated Mali 1-0 in a men's Group match on Saturday night to improve to 2-0 in the opening round of the Olympic football tournament.
Japan midfielder Rihito Yamamoto, who plays for Sint-Truiden in the Belgian Pro League, scored the game's lone goal in the 82nd minute.
With the win, Japan secured a spot in the knockout phase of the tournament.
Manager Go Oiwa's squad won its opening game in France, a 5-0 rout of Paraguay on Wednesday, July 24.
Up next: Japan faces Israel, which has one win and one draw, on Tuesday, July 30 to wrap up its Group D schedule.
Olympic Medal Table
As of 1 AM JST on Monday, July 29, Japan had a total of three medals (two gold), all in judo. Hifumi Abe repeated as men's 66-kg champion, beating Brazil's Willian Lima in the final on Sunday.
Abe's triumph produced Japan's first medal on Day 2.
Check out the full medal table, which is updated around the clock, on the official Paris 2024 website.
Read more about Abe and other medal winners in upcoming articles on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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