But I am glad I was able to win, she is a very tough opponent.”Ī general view shows empty stands during the match between Zheng Saisai and Naomi Osaka. “I felt really nervous being in Japan and playing here for the first time in maybe two years, and for it to be my first Olympics,” said Osaka. Between her sparse scheduling and the decisions she has made, it has often seemed as if her entire year has been leading up to this event, and even more so when she revealed after the match she had known since March she would be lighting the cauldron. Playing for your country in a once-in-a-career home Olympic Games is difficult enough, but doing so after essentially being elected the face of the whole event is another level altogether. This, however, is a different task altogether. At the Australian Open en route to her title this year, she faced double match point against Garbiñe Muguruza and responded by not making an unforced error for the rest of the match. She imposed untold pressure on herself by purchasing seven masks at the US Open last September yet she lived up to it as she tore through those seven matches and won. On hard courts in the big moments over the past year, Osaka has been close to unstoppable. Tougher tasks await for Osaka and it will be fascinating to see how she handles them. After failing to convert two match points in the penultimate game, she served out the match to love. As she established herself on top of the baseline against her resourceful, diminutive Chinese opponent, she was not always at her cleanest but she controlled the match and was focused throughout. Osaka opened the match as if nothing at all had changed, slamming a typical ace down the T on the first point.