Naomi Osaka Drops French Open First-Round Match; Krejcikova, Jabeur Among Early Upsets

Naomi Osaka saw her run at the French Open come to a quick end on Monday after losing to Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 in her first-round match.

Osaka came into the French Open unseeded and wasn’t considered a top favorite to win at Roland Garros this year. DraftKings Sportsbook opened Osaka as a +4000 pick to take the title at Roland Garros, far behind No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek (-110).

Anisimova came in as favorite over Osaka

In fact, Osaka wasn’t even favored in her first match. Anisimova, the No. 27 seed, was a -178 pick in the first-round matchup at FanDuel, with Osaka fetching attractive +146 odds. But it was the 20-year-old American who came out on top in straight sets.

“I think the difference was for me match play, like I only played two matches on clay this year,” Osaka said afterwards. “I wish I could have played more. Like I stayed in Europe for longer to be able to prepare for this tournament. So it is a bit disappointing, but I’m happy with how my attitude was, because the last match that we played in Australia I think I was getting a bit more upset with myself.”

Anisimova presented a difficult challenge for Osaka. She has already reached the French Open semifinals once, doing so in 2019. She also knocked Osaka out of this year’s Australian Open in the third round. Meanwhile, while Osaka boasts four career Grand Slam titles, she’s never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros.

Still, Anisimova wasn’t overconfident heading into the match.

“When you see Naomi Osaka in the first round, you don’t think it’s going to be easy,” Anisimova said. “Going into the match, I did feel the stress and the nerves a bit because it’s a very tough first round.”

First round claims four top-seeded women

After the match, Osaka said she may skip Wimbledon now that the WTA and ATP have decided not to award points for the tournament. The tours made that decision after Wimbledon organizers banned Russian and Belarusian players from the event.

“I’m leading more towards not playing given the current circumstances,” Osaka said. “I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way.”

The biggest upset as of Monday afternoon was Diane Parry’s victory over reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. While No. 2 seed Krejcikova was coming back from a right elbow injury and playing her first competitive match since February, she was still a +2500 choice to defend her French Open title. Yet, the 19-year-old Parry was able to score one of the biggest wins of her career in front of a French home crowd.

“It’s never easy to finish a match off on a court like this and against the reigning champion,” Parry said after her 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 win. “I just told myself to be aggressive and let my shots flow because I have nothing to lose.”

No. 5 seed Anett Kontaveit also fell on Monday, as Australian Ajla Tomljanovic defeated her 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Another top seed, No. 6 Ons Jabeur, also lost on Sunday, with Magda Linette pulling off the 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 upset. In total, four of the top 10 seeds in the women’s draw have already lost, with No. 10 Garbine Muguruza also losing on Sunday to Kaia Kanepi.