Cincinnati Open: Naomi Osaka knocked out by wildcard Jil Teichmann
Women's world number two Naomi Osaka suffered a third-round defeat to Swiss wildcard Jil Teichmann at the Cincinnati Open. Teichmann beat Osaka 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to claim the biggest win of her career. This was the first tournament for Osaka outside her homeland since pulling out of the French Open in May. The four-time Grand Slam champion also missed Wimbledon. Here are further details.
Fourth defeat after winning the first set since 2017
This is just the fourth defeat for Osaka after she won the first set since 2017. Notably, she had a 118-3 record before this match. On the other hand, Teichmann recorded her third career Top 10 win but first on hard-court. Her previous wins over Kiki Bertens (Palermo, 2019) and Elina Svitolina (Madrid, 2021) came on clay.
Teichmann lost five out of six matches before the tournament
Prior to this tournament, Teichmann had just one win in six matches. She lost to Danielle Collins, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Maryna Zanevska, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, and Camila Giorgi during the period. Teichmann will face 10th seed Belinda Bencic for a place in what could be her biggest semi-final. The latter proceed to the quarter-finals as Karolina Muchova retired due to injury, trailing 7-5, 2-1.
'Literally shaking right now', Teichmann said on her victory
"I knew she's a very tough opponent. She's a Grand Slam champion. I'm the underdog," Teichmann said after the match. "Literally, I'm shaking right now. I'm very, very happy with this win. I've had a very tough year: I started very well and I've had many, many injuries. But I felt like I've had a good level and I'm happy it's working out now."
Osaka is 17-4 in the season
Osaka hasn't been at her best after winning the Australian Open, earlier this year. She is 17-4 in the season after losing in Cincinnati. Prior to that, the world number two suffered a third-round defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Osaka withdrew after the first-round match at Roland Garros and skipped the entire Wimbledon.
A look at the other results
Among others, world number one Ashleigh Barty defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2. Barbora Krejcikova beat Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, while Germany's two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber overcame Jelena Ostapenko. In the men's draw, Germany's Alexander Zverev claimed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Guido Pella. Stefanos Tsitsipas proceeded to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season after beating Lorenzo Sonego.
