Djokovic, Osaka in cruise mode
Tokyo, July 26: Novak Djokovic strolled into the third round of the Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament on Monday as Japanese star Naomi Osaka’s path to gold opened up further after a host of leading women’s seeds exited.
Djokovic smacked 14 aces in a 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s 48th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff and will play Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the quarter-finals.
The world number one had led calls for organisers to push back start times to avoid the worst of the punishing heat after blazing sunshine brought the extreme weather policy into play in round one.
But a gentle breeze and slightly overcast skies at Ariake Tennis Park made for less brutal conditions on the third day of the Games.
“I was struggling with certain things in the first round, but today was far more pleasant to play, just a higher level of tennis on my side,” said Djokovic.
“I’m very pleased with the way I felt on the court.”
Osaka raced into the last 16 as she powered past Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour, playing her second match in as many days after lighting the Olympic cauldron on Friday.
“Honestly, I feel like I was a bit more nervous before the match,” said Osaka.
“I felt a lot of butterflies, but I think as I started playing and feeling more comfortable, I knew that no matter what it would be a great match.”
Before arriving at the Games, Osaka had not played since May, when she walked out of the French Open saying media commitments were harming her mental health.
The second seed is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw following the shock first-round exit of world number one and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty. Third seed Aryna Sabalenka was beaten by Donna Vekic in the second round Monday.
Sabalenka lost 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) to Vekic, while 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek was left in tears after going down in straight sets to Spain’s Paula Badosa.
Alexander Zverev is a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic. The German strolled past Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2, 6-2.