Tennis: Osaka overpowers Tauson to reach National Bank Open final
The win set up a Thursday showdown with 18-year-old local favorite Victoria Mboko as the 27-year-old Osaka bids for her first title on the WTA tour since the Australian Open in February 2021.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, currently 49th in the world, faced the 19th-ranked Tauson in a repeat of the final at January's WTA 250 ASB Classic in New Zealand. In that match, the Japanese withdrew with an abdominal injury after winning the first set 6-4.
Osaka continued to excel on her preferred hard court surface, with solid ground strokes off both sides helping her run off four straight games to take the first set.
After falling behind 4-2 in the second set, Tauson fought her way back to even the match at four games apiece. However, the Dane could only convert two of her seven break points and sent a forehand into the net on match point to put Osaka into the final after 1 hour, 45 minutes.
"I guess just you guys cheering, it really meant a lot," Osaka said after the match. "I'm pretty sure it's super late now, but thank you for sticking around and I hope you guys also come and watch the final."
Osaka is expecting a hostile atmosphere in the final against the 85th-ranked Mboko, who battled past Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).
"She's Canadian, I heard the applause from inside (the locker room), so I'm pretty sure it's going to be super lively. But I really appreciate that because it means you guys are invested in the match," she said.
"I hope one or two people cheer for me, too."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
11 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
Tennis: Osaka loses to rising star Mboko in Montreal final
MONTREAL (Kyodo) -- Japan's Naomi Osaka fell short in her bid for her first WTA Tour title in four years, losing to 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko in Thursday's final at the National Bank Open in Montreal. The home favorite came from a set down to beat the former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Mboko converted eight of her nine break points while overcoming 13 double faults. The 27-year-old Osaka last won a WTA tournament at the Australian Open in February 2021 for her seventh career singles title. She is scheduled to play at the U.S. Open beginning Aug. 24.
4 hours ago
Japan Education Minister Regrets High School Baseball Bullying
Tokyo, Aug. 8 (Jiji Press)--Japanese education minister Toshiko Abe on Friday voiced deep disappointment over violent bullying at a baseball team that is currently competing in the national summer high school baseball championship. "It is deeply regrettable that there were violent acts, and it is inexcusable," Abe told a press conference. She also urged the high school to care for the victim and take measures to prevent any recurrence. The bullying occurred in a dormitory of the baseball club of Koryo High School in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, in January, according to sources familiar with the matter. A then first-year student of the club who did an act breaking the dormitory's rules was tortured by several second-year teammates. The school reported the case to the Japan High School Baseball Federation, the organizer of the championship, and the Hiroshima High School Baseball Federation in February. The following month, the national federation gave a stern warning to Koryo High School, the sources said. The victim has left the school, according to the sources. Social media posts that slander the perpetrators using their real names are on the increase. "The escalation of comments could lead to new human rights abuse cases," Abe said, urging the public to respond calmly. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
Venus Williams falls in first round in Cincinnati
Venus Williams rallied from 4-1 down in the first set but could not maintain momentum, with the seven-time Grand Slam champion falling 6-4, 6-4 to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Thursday. Williams, 45, was competing for the second time in three weeks after returning to the WTA tour in Washington in her first tournament in 16 months. Williams won her first-round match in Washington before bowing out to Magdalena Frech in straight sets. "I had so much fun out there, and there were definitely moments where I had a lot of chances," Williams said. "I thought she played super well. I have to definitely give her a lot of credit. "It's hard for me to be upset," Williams added. "I know that I lost this match because I just, I need more matches. "I could have played better. But the thing I feel good about is that I did go for it. It's not that I didn't know what to do. It's just that I need to keep working on it." Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 51st, was thrilled by the sense of occasion on the opening day of the tournament, the last major tuneup prior to the Aug. 25 start of the U.S. Open. "It was not easy at all," the Spaniard said of taking on Williams. "She's a legend, it was a privilege to play against her." Bouzas Maneiro said her 87-minute win was "like a dream." "I never thought that I would ever play Venus," the 22-year-old said. "I was just lucky with that. "I tried to have a lot of intensity, but I had no rhythm. She hits so hard. I tried to focus. I had to be positive to win the points." Williams was playing in the tournament for the 11th time. She reached the semifinals in 2012 and in her most recent appearance, she lost in the second round to China's Zheng Qinwen in 2023. She said this week that after a serious health scare last year that involved surgery to remove uterine fibroids she is relishing her return to the courts. "I'm in a completely different space, and I have a clean bill of health, thank God," she said. In results from the ATP Masters 1000 event draw, Brazil's Joao Fonseca began with a win over China's Bu Yunchaokete 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Fonseca overcame 18 unforced errors and snapped a three-match losing streak in Masters 1000 events. "I was struggling a lot, missing a lot of shots, not feeling my best today," Fonseca admitted. "I was staying in the game, believing that I would find the opportunity, and I got it. I'm very happy with how I believed." Belgian Zizou Bergs defeated Britain's Jakob Fearnley 6-1, 6-4 while there were wins for Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech.
