Osaka took it down to the wire
Naomi Osaka has been knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round, losing to 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova.
The defending champion took an early lead, winning the first set 6-4, before her American opponent enjoyed a resurgent second set, hitting 15 winners and levelling the scoring, winning the set six games to three.
The third set went down to the wire, with Anisimova saving two match points ahead of a tiebreaker.
Across the course of the match, Osaka only landed 61 per cent of first serves, but double faulted only three times, compared to Anisimova’s eight double faults.
It is the second time in the tournament that Anisimova has come back from losing the first to win the match 2-1, having defeated the Dutch Arianne Hartono in the first round, before her two set second round victory over Belinda Bencic.
Anisimova will now face top ranked Ash Barty, who is playing on home soil, in the fourth round.
Osaka’s exit comes after disappointing exits for Brits Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, who were both knocked out in the second round on Thursday morning.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Daniil Medvedev was booed by the Australian Open crowd as he was being interviewed after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the tournament.
He made his feelings known…@DaniilMedwed | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/18J7Kr39yx
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 20, 2022
