Naomi Osaka Loses in the First Round in Paris

PARIS — Amanda Anisimova knocked Naomi Osaka out of another Grand Slam tournament on Monday, defeating her, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round of the French Open.

Anisimova, a 20-year-old American with a power game that bears a certain resemblance to Osaka’s, had to save two match points before defeating Osaka in a three-set thriller in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.

But Anisimova was much more efficient on Monday, cracking occasionally under Osaka’s weight of shot and the weight of the moment but ultimately navigating the critical phases of the match with aplomb.

She served out the first set at love, striking three winners, and then served out the match, finishing off Osaka on her third match point with a cocksure backhand winner down the line that Osaka had no chance to reach.

“When you see Naomi Osaka in the first round, you don’t think it’s going to be easy,” Anisimova said. “A very tough match, and going out there I knew I had to play good tennis, and the conditions weren’t easy.”

Viewed objectively, this was no upset. Osaka, a former No. 1 from Japan, is one of the biggest stars in sports and the highest paid female athlete in the world by a large margin. But she has not been a dominant force on tour for well over a year now and has never been a dominant force on the French Open’s clay-court surface.

All four of Osaka’s Grand Slam singles titles were won on hardcourts: two at the Australian Open and two at the United States Open. She has never reached even the final of a clay-court event on tour and has never been past the third round of the French Open.

She arrived in Paris this year unseeded and having played just two singles matches on clay all year after withdrawing from the Italian Open earlier this month because of a left Achilles’ tendon injury.

Her lower left ankle was taped on Monday for the rematch with Anisimova, the No. 27 seed, who as the higher ranked player, walked on the Suzanne Lenglen Court after her opponent.

The ballstriking was ferocious from the opening point. Though conditions were humid and heavy on the clay, Anisimova and Osaka both have the punching power to hit winners in any conditions. But Anisimova, tall and with a taste for risk, has had a lot more success at Roland Garros so far than Osaka. As a 17-year-old, Anisimova reached the semifinals in 2019 before losing to eventual champion Ashleigh Barty.