Tokyo — Naomi Osaka stated that she was “terrified” after witnessing her opponent Daria Saville collapse with a knee injury barely seven minutes into Tuesday’s Pan Pacific Open match in Tokyo.
Saville withdrew from the first-round match after injuring her left knee while hitting a cross-court forehand in the second game.
The world No. 55 cried “my knee” before collapsing to the ground in anguish, prompting Osaka to race to her opponent’s side of the court.
Saville (28) retired from the match after receiving treatment for several minutes, and Osaka, who has struggled with injuries herself this year, stated that she felt “very sad” for her opponent.
“At first I assumed she was yelling because she felt her forehand was out, but then I realized she was yelling because she was in pain,” said the former world No. 1 who is attempting to break out of a rut in Tokyo this week.
“Then I became terrified since I believed that athletes have a rather high pain tolerance. It appeared terrible.”
Saville eventually stood up and walked to her chair, but quit after putting her knee through a series of footwork exercises.
Osaka stated that she believed Saville will recover, adding that she was a “warrior.”
On Thursday, Osaka will face Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the second round. Osaka was on break point at 30-40 in the second set after maintaining her serve in the opening game.
“Right now, it still feels a little strange that I just won a match – I feel like I didn’t win a match,” said Osaka, who lost in the first round of her previous three events.
“I suppose so, as I am now advancing in the event. I’m not really thinking about the final exam at the moment.”
Osaka is the defending Pan Pacific Open champion, despite the fact that the tournament has not been held since 2019 due to the pandemic.
In the first round earlier in the day, the 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin of the United States fell 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 to Mexican qualifier Fernanda Contreras Gomez.
Kenin also reached the French Open final in 2020, however her world ranking has subsequently slipped to 315 due to physical struggles.
Two-time Grand Slam finalist and No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova defeated Bulgarian qualifier Isabella Shinikova 6-2, 6-1.
AFP