Kerber eliminates Osaka from Olympics in battle of former No 1s

Germany’s Angelique Kerber has caused the first big upset of the women’s singles event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, knocking out former No 1 Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday evening in Paris.

Kerber, a former No 1 herself, is playing in the final tournament of her career, and looked much sharper than Osaka in their first-round clash.

Osaka sprayed 30 unforced errors across the one-hour, eight-minute clash, looking slow and erratic for much of the match. Kerber, on the other hand, was in impressive form, making just 11 unforced errors herself while striking 15 winners.

First serves were also an issue for Osaka, with the four-time Grand Slam champion only winning 54 percent of points behind her first serve.

Kerber will now face world No 61 Jaqueline Cristian, who upset No 17 seed Caroline Garcia in her opening match.

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