Osaka Earns First Grass Win of the Season with Victory over Qualifier Danilovic
The 27-year-old Japanese player, who had lost in the first round at her last two tournaments -- the French Open and the Berlin Open -- had won her first title in May in almost two years following a maternity break.
Osaka, who had reached the third round of the Australian Open in January before retiring injured, has not had back-to-back wins on any surface since the Italian Open in May. She is currently ranked 56th in the world.
"It's my first grasscourt win of the year," Reuters quoted Osaka as saying. "I am excited about that. I am super excited to play here and be back for my next round."
Asked whether she was on track to improve her form on the surface, she said: "I hope so. I think I have potential but everyone is really good so I cannot take it for granted."
The pair held serve to take the first set into a tiebreak where Osaka snatched it on her second set point.
Osaka was 40-0 up on her opponent's serve at 2-2 in the second set but she could not bag the first break of either player in the match, with Danilovic holding serve with her eighth ace of the match.
Osaka, however, got the mini-break she needed in the tiebreak when she challenged a Danilovic first serve that was then ruled out, with the qualifier then double-faulting.
She held on to that slim advantage to earn a spot in the round of 16 where she will face fifth-seed Emma Navarro.
Russian eighth-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also eased into the next round with a 6-1 6-2 win over Swiss Belinda Bencic.
Croatia's Donna Vekic made equally light work of sixth seed southpaw Diana Shnaider for a 6-3 6-3 victory.
Clara Tauson of Denmark needed to work harder and battle from a set down before snatching a 6-7(6) 6-3 6-3 against Poland's Magdalena Frech.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
21 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez reach the semifinals in Washington
Emma Raducanu reached the semifinals at the D.C. Open–the biggest tournament where she's made it that far since her surprising 2021 US Open title–by eliminating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5 on Friday. On a muggy day with the temperature topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), Raducanu took a medical timeout while reeling off the last five games of the match after trailing 5-2 in the second set. 'I would like to say I'm pretty good in the heat for the most part but I was really struggling today,' said Raducanu, who was 18 when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles trophy. 'It was one of the toughest matches conditions-wise I have ever played in. ... Those points in the second set I was getting a bit wobbly. I'm just happy I could close it out and it was two sets.' Also reaching the semifinals at the hard-court tournament in Washington was Leylah Fernandez, the runner-up to Raducanu at Flushing Meadows four years ago. Fernandez moved on with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over qualifier Taylor Townsend on Thursday. Next for Fernandez is a matchup against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, the highest remaining seed in the field at No. 3 or No. 5 Magdanela Frech, the player who beat Venus Williams on Thursday night. Raducanu's semifinal opponent Saturday will be No. 4 Clara Tauson or Anna Kalinskaya. The first man to reach the semifinals was Corentin Moutet, a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev. The match was delayed for about an hour late in the third set because of lightning in the area.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Following Venus Williams' comment on health insurance, here's what to know about athlete coverage
Venus Williams' recent singles win at the D.C. Open showcased her longevity and brought attention to health coverage for aging athletes following a joking comment she made in an on-court interview. 'I had to come back for the insurance,' the five-time Wimbledon champion said after Tuesday's match, her first in 16 months. 'They informed me this year that I'm on COBRA, so it's like I got to get my benefits on.' The 45-year-old Williams, who has won seven major singles titles in her career, became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis with Tuesday's victory. After losing on Thursday, she acknowledged that her comment on health insurance was 'a fun and funny moment.' The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, more commonly referred to as COBRA, allows Americans to stay on their employer's insurance plan for a limited amount of time after leaving their job. It comes with high costs. Williams' comment led to questions about health insurance in the sports world. For most active professional athletes, partially or fully subsidized health insurance is provided by their league or governing body and guaranteed in their collective bargaining agreement. A CBA is an agreement reached between a league and its players that guarantees certain levels of player compensation and benefits and can be renegotiated every few years. So, when athletes are playing, they're usually covered. But Williams coming back to the sport after a 16-month hiatus brought to light how long that insurance lasts – or doesn't last – for athletes when they're not playing. Women's Tennis: In the WTA, the governing body of the women's tour, players are eligible to enroll in the health insurance plan if they are ranked in the top 500 in singles or top 175 in doubles and have played a minimum of three WTA 250 level or above tournaments that year. If players are in the top 150 in singles or top 50 in doubles, the WTA will pay a portion of the premiums. If a player is no longer eligible under those requirements, they can enroll in COBRA for up to 18 months, which is likely the situation that Williams was referencing. That is also the WTA's only option for retiring players. 'Nobody wants to be on COBRA, right?' Williams said after her second-round loss on Thursday night. 'That remains an issue in my life … Obviously (the interview was) a fun and funny moment, but it's an issue that people are dealing with, so it is serious.' Men's Tennis: The ATP provides health insurance to men's tennis players who rank in the top 250 in singles or top 50 in doubles. All other players with a ranking point are given the opportunity to purchase health insurance through the ATP's provider. For retired players, the only option is COBRA for up to three years. Golf: As an individual sport without a CBA, golf tours vary. They do have a group insurance plan that is available to active members of the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions (the tour for golfers over 50), and the Korn Ferry Tour (the feeder circuit for the PGA). For players who meet certain performance criteria, including how many tournaments they played and how often they won, the PGA will partially subsidize the plan. In retirement, players are responsible for their own insurance. Some players join the PGA Tour Champions after the PGA Tour and play into their mid-60s, during which they maintain coverage. Top players can receive a subsidy from the PGA in retirement. The LPGA Tour, the women's professional golf tour, started offering its players fully funded health insurance for the first time this year. Before this year, players were given a 4000 stipend. NBA: NBA players have access to one of the most inclusive insurance plans in retirement. If they played at least three years in the league, retired NBA players are eligible for fully-funded health insurance in retirement, and if they played at least 10 years, they will have healthcare covered for their entire family. WNBA: WNBA players are fighting for retirement healthcare as part of their new CBA, which they are currently negotiating with the league. Those negotiations have been heated, and the most recent meeting between the two sides last weekend did not result in an agreement. One unique facet of the W's healthcare is that athletes who have spent more than eight years in the league can be reimbursed up to 20000 a year for costs related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing, or additional fertility treatments. NFL: The NFL has less long-term coverage for retirees than most other team sport leagues – athletes who played in the league for at least three years can remain on the NFL health insurance plan but only for five years into retirement. NHL: NHL players who have played more than 160 games with the league, which is about two seasons, are eligible to buy NHL health insurance for their retirement. The retirement insurance plan is eligible for partial subsidization from the league. MLB: Baseball players who spent at least four years in the league have the option to pay premiums to stay on the MLB's healthcare plan indefinitely. Minor League Baseball has its own separate CBA, which also guarantees health insurance for active players. In the minors, however, players who get cut or leave the league lose coverage at the end of that month.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Venus Williams is back and heading to Cincinnati
After Venus Williams' four-matches-in-four-days return to professional tennis was over, after she was loudly feted by appreciative fans even after a loss in singles, the D.C. Open stadium announcer offered a thought: 'We're never going to say goodbye to Venus Williams, are we?' he said. 'Not yet, anyway.' This was not a one-stop hello-and-farewell appearance for the 45-year-old Williams, who had been away from the tour for 16 months before showing up in Washington this week and winning once each in singles and doubles. She hadn't won a match since 2023, and the owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, plus 14 in women's doubles with her sister Serena, and another two in mixed doubles, was celebrated by the spectators and other players. 'I'm sorry to have (fallen) short,' Williams said after being eliminated by 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday night, 'but I know I can play better. And I know I will play better.' Yes, there will be more: Williams next heads to the Cincinnati Open in August. That's certain. And she also might very well be competing at the US Open later next month if the US Tennis Association awards her a wild-card entry. The USTA already announced that Williams asked for an invitation to play with Reilly Opelka in the tournament's newfangled mixed doubles event. Williams made quite obvious that the whole experience in Washington was fun for her. She loves the challenge. She loves playing tennis. Plus, what's not to like about so much adulation from so many? 'Everything is about her (at) this tournament. All the media, all the fans – everyone is for her,' Frech said. 'She's a superstar. She's a legend here.' There's more to it, though, because Williams also made clear that this is not merely about having a good time. She wants to win, too. 'There's so many learnings from here. I know exactly what I need to work on, where I can improve. The good news is I'm always in control of the point. The important part is to put the ball in,' Williams said with a smile. 'So this is one thing I didn't do today. Was I in control? Absolutely. Will I be in control of most of my matches? Most likely, yes. That's the place I want to be, so I'm putting myself in that position. That's what counts.' Williams still can hammer a serve, as the series of aces she delivered at more than 110 mph during her straight-set victory Tuesday against 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns showed. Still can pound forehands and backhands, too. As Stearns put it: 'She played some ball tonight.' At the end of her final news conference in Washington, Williams spoke about her takeaways from the matches she played and the work she put in to make them possible after needing to stay off the court last year because of surgery for uterine fibroids. Her answer sounded a bit like a warning to other players out there who will face her. 'I'll reflect on this match and the things I could have done better. I'll reflect on my preparation going into the matches to make sure I'm prime and ready. Those are the kind of things. But more than anything, I take a lot of information from this tournament. So much data,' Williams said. 'Like, I can't wait to get on the practice court. My coach and I were already talking about what we're going to work on and also how much better I got so quickly in these last few weeks, too, was kind of like straight up a mountain.' Then she paused and added: 'So we have made so much progress, and I expect that there will be more.'
