Rattled by a derogatory shout from a spectator, Naomi Osaka went on to lose 6-0, 6-4 to Veronika Kudermetova of Russia within the second spherical of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday evening.
Osaka trailed within the first set when a lady within the stands shouted, “Osaka, you suck.” The Japanese star approached the chair umpire to ask that one thing be performed. However the umpire defined that she did not know who it was and couldn’t take any motion.
“I did not hear what girl say as a result of I actually so deal with my recreation, on my serve recreation, I did not perceive what she say,” Kudermetova mentioned. “However after that second, I noticed that Naomi, she begin to cry.”
Osaka later made the weird request to make use of the umpire’s microphone to handle the group, which didn’t occur.
A supervisor got here on courtroom for a protracted dialogue with Osaka. The supervisor informed the umpire “if it occurs once more, we’ll discover him.” Kudermetova waited behind the baseline for the match to renew.
Afterward, Osaka spoke to the group with tears streaming down her face.
“To be trustworthy, I’ve gotten heckled earlier than, prefer it did not actually trouble me, however heckled right here,” she mentioned, her voice trailing off.
“I watched a video of Venus and Serena (Williams) getting heckled right here, if you happen to’ve by no means watched it you must watch it,” Osaka mentioned. “I do not know why, nevertheless it went into my head and it acquired replayed so much. I am attempting to not cry.”
The Williams sisters have been heckled by followers at Indian Wells in 2001. Venus withdrew, with a knee harm, from her scheduled semifinal towards Serena shortly earlier than it was to start. When Venus and their father Richard took their seats to look at Serena within the remaining towards Kim Clijsters, the group started booing. Because the match went on, followers jeered Serena. Their father mentioned he was the goal of racial slurs. The sisters boycotted the event for years earlier than ultimately returning.
Osaka struggled with melancholy after successful the 2018 U.S. Open
Osaka has mentioned she struggled with melancholy after successful the 2018 U.S. Open in a controversial remaining towards Serena Williams. She withdrew from final yr’s French Open to are inclined to her psychological well being.
Osaka gained her opening-round match towards Sloane Stephens in three units in her return to the desert, the place she gained the title in 2018. Osaka hadn’t performed a event since January when she misplaced within the spherical of 32 on the Australian Open. Solely having performed a handful of occasions final yr, her rating dropped to 78th on the planet.
“I do know she’s the robust, the good individual,” Kudermetova mentioned. “I feel will probably be good along with her.”
