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Naomi Osaka advances into Olympics third round feeling ‘refreshed and happy’

Naomi Osaka Olympics

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    Naomi Osaka is back on the court, and she’s already won the first two matches in the beginning days of her Olympics debut in Tokyo.

    On to the third round: Representing Japan in the Games, Osaka faced off against China’s Zheng Saisai on Sunday and defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-4 in Ariake Tennis Park’s Centre Court. In the second round on Monday, she defeated Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, 6-3, 6-2.

    • Osaka, who’s ranked number two in the world, will need two more wins to be up for a medal.
    • For the next match, she will be playing against Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova.

    Return to the court: The Olympic events are Osaka’s first time competing in two months, after taking a break to prioritize her mental health, according to CNN.

    • In May, the 23-year-old star athlete announced her withdrawal from the French Open after organizers fined her $15,000 for not attending a press conference. Weeks later, she also withdrew from Wimbledon, explaining that she was taking “personal time.”
    • Speaking to reporters after the weekend match, Osaka said she felt “refreshed and happy” coming back from her break, Teen Vogue reported. 
    • “More than anything else, I’m just focused on playing tennis,” she said. “The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I feel like the break that I took was very needed.”

    Osaka makes history: On the opening night of the Olympics, Osaka went down in history as the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron. 

    Featured Image via Getty

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