Osaka loses on return as Murray suggests last Australian Open appearance

The 2024 Australian Open is currently underway, and we have witnessed some action from some of the best players around the world. As usual, there have been some shock defeats as well as some surprising victories, and we are expected to see a lot more before the competition comes to an end. 

One of the surprises was Naomi Osaka’s shock defeat in her first match in a long time. The 26-year-old, who gave birth six months ago, fell to a first-round defeat in the hands of Caroline Garcia, losing 6-4 7-6 (7-2). 

Despite the loss, Osaka still sounded optimistic, saying after the match that she thought that she did her best, although she added that she felt a bit frustrated because she could have done better. We can expect to see Osaka play more matches this year than she did last year. 

American teen Coco Gauff cruised to the second round after beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0. Gauff enters Australia after lifting her first Grand Slam title at the US Open last September. She had such an impressive game on Monday, dropping just one point. No doubt, all eyes are on her to see how well she performs, and that could, undoubtedly, translate into pressure. Hopefully, she is able to manage expectations while being her best self on the court. 

On the men’s side, Andy Murray revealed that there is a chance that this might be his last Australian Open appearance after a first-round loss to Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The Brit, who had, weeks ago, hinted that this could be his last season on the court, was unable to put up a strong performance against his opponent, eventually losing 6-4 6-2 6-2. After the match, he commented on his performance and added, “It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here.”

Leon Osamor