By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 2, 2022
Naomi Osaka fell to Sara Sorribes Tormo in Madrid, and has some injury worries to boot.
Photo Source: Getty
Naomi Osaka is struggling with an Achilles injury in Madrid, and the issue was one of the big reasons that she was knocked out of the draw on Sunday, falling to Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-3, 6-1.
Osaka, a former quarterfinalist at Madrid (2019), never really got going during the match. She fell to 2-2 lifetime against Sorribes Tormo and later said that she was just “standing still” on court.
She said she picked up the injury after her first-round victory over Anastasia Potapova, and didn’t really get to practice after that.
“So yesterday I didn't hit really, because I felt it whenever I pushed off. I didn't serve. I just did overheads. I spent like two hours with my physio just like trying to figure out what we could do to make it better. Then icing it and stuff like that," she said.
“But when I woke up this morning, honestly, like it was on a pain level like 4 out of 10, so I thought like, you know, that's fine. For an athlete, that's like basically nothing. But then it just got worse after I warmed up for the match and stuff like that.”
Osaka believes that the injury won’t limit her during the remainder of the clay season.
“I have had it before, like maybe two years ago I think after Miami or something," she said. "But I can't imagine that it will be a huge problem unless something significant happens, but I think for right now, just like learning how to move forward with like everything.”
Sorribes Tormo, the lone Spaniard remaining in the draw, will face Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16. Kasatkina slid past Maria Sakkari, the No.4 seed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Only one Top-10 seed has reached the round of 16 in Madrid, but there will be plenty of talented players vying to go on deep runs. Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu are two of them. Each advanced in impressive fashion on Sunday, with Andreescu tearing past Danielle Collins, the No.6 seed, 6-1, 6-1, while Raducanu, seeded 11, took out Marta Kostyuk, 6-2. 6-1.
Here is how the round of 16 shapes up at Madrid - the bottom half will be in action tomorrow.