Heather Watson scores a huge victory despite Andy Murray’s ongoing losing run.
Andy Murray lost the Open 13 Provence in the first round to Tomas Machac, extending his awful streak.
The 36-year-old lost to the Czech 7-5, 6-4 in Marseille, which was his sixth straight loss since October and meant he had only triumphed once in his previous ten games.
Although Murray has acknowledged that he is considering whether to retire, he vehemently denied any notion that continuing to play would be a disgrace to his legacy, writing on X last week that “most individuals would quit and give up in my circumstances right now.”
However, my mental processes differ from those of most individuals.
I’m not going to give up.
Pick life. Decide on a career. But pick your perspective on Andy Murray carefully.
Though there were once again expensive mistakes, this was not a poor showing against a player who is rapidly improving, in 23-year-old Machac, who is ranked 66. After being broken early in the first set, Murray seemed to be in control of the match until Machac broke serve at 5-5. Murray was unable to make up the deficit as the Czech took the lead early in the second set.
However, Heather Watson’s day was much better as she defeated ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 7-5 at the Abu Dhabi Open, recording her greatest win by ranking since 2017. Watson had a difficult year in 2023, but she overcame the 16th-ranked Russian player with aggressive, self-assured tennis. With the victory, she might climb back into the top 130 in the world.
After defeating Sofia Kenin, the previous Australian Open winner, in the opening round of qualifying, Watson commented, “I knew she’s such a strong player so I knew I had to play really well today.” “I simply concentrated on my serve and tried to be as aggressive as I could with what I could manage. I played a great game and had a great time today.
Watson faces Spanish fighter Cristina Bucsa in the following round after joining fellow countrywoman Emma Raducanu in the second round.
Naomi Osaka lost her opening match at the Abu Dhabi Open against Danielle Collins earlier in the day. The four-time grand slam champion returned to action last month after giving birth to her first child. She advanced to the Brisbane International’s second round before falling to Caroline Garcia in a tough battle in her debut encounter at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka at the Abu Dhabi Open reacts when Danielle Collins loses a ball.Image credit: AP/Kamar Jebreili
Despite those encouraging results, Osaka lost 7-5, 6-0 to American Collins and looked very weak against him. Before Collins won the vital break at 5-5, rallies were few and far between in a first set dominated by serves. After that, Osaka committed 20 unintentional errors and appeared defeated as she dropped service four times in a row, as the former Australian Open finalist easily won the match.
It is evident that Osaka, 26, has a lot of work ahead of her if she wants to return to the top of the game, even though she intends to play a larger schedule than she did before her 15-month layoff. Moving on, Collins—who intends to retire at the end of the season—confronts top seed Elena Rybakina in the second round.
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