Japan’s Naomi Osaka is one of the biggest stars of these Games. She is reportedly the world’s highest-paid female athlete, and even received the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron during Friday night’s opening ceremonies. But Osaka has not played a match since withdrawing from Roland Garros nearly two months ago. That was her reaction to the Grand Slam committee threatening to default her from the event after she stated she would not take part in press conferences, citing mental health concerns. So much has been said and written about Naomi over the past few months, but now she’ll let her tennis speak for itself.
Also on Sunday, two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray faces Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who soundly defeated Murray at last summer’s US Open. Ash Barty will play her first singles match since winning Wimbledon two weeks ago, against the dangerous and highly-entertaining Sara Sorribes Tormo. And the top two Japanese men in the world both take on top 25-ranked Russians.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing men’s and women’s matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Naomi Osaka (2) vs. Saisai Zheng – Second on Centre Court
Osaka has now won 41 of her last 47 matches, dating back to September of 2019. That also happens to be the last time she played in her home country, when she won the WTA event in Osaka, Japan. Notably, half of those six recent losses came on clay. On hard courts, Naomi is an astounding 39-3 during that same span. But Saisai can also play on this surface, as she was the champion two summers ago in San Jose. However, the 27-year-old from China is just 6-12 since March of 2020, and missed nearly a year of action due to the pandemic. She also does not possess the powerful serve or groundstrokes of Osaka. When these players met 18 months ago at the Australian Open, Naomi prevailed in straight sets. The result on Sunday should not be much different.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (9) vs. Andy Murray – Third on Centre Court
Felix’s straight-set win last year in New York came just two days after a five-set, nearly five-hour victory for Murray over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Andy will be much fresher on Sunday, and should be feeling confident coming off an excellent win on Saturday in doubles alongside Joe Salisbury, as they took out French Open champions Mahut and Herbert. Darren Cahill pointed out during NBC’s coverage on Saturday how Murray rarely loses to an opponent twice in a row, as he studies what went wrong in his loss, and learns how to exploit his opponents’ weaknesses. Auger-Aliassime is coming off an excellent run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, an event where his close friend, Denis Shapovalov, defeated Murray. But with Andy perhaps in his best physical health in years, and considering his previous success representing his country at the Olympics, I like Murray’s chances of figuring out a way to grit his way to victory. Plus, Andy may not be as bothered by the heat and humidity as other players, due to the training he does in Miami, Florida.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Ash Barty (1) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo – Barty is now a stellar 35-6 on the year, though Sorribes Tormo has tormented many top players this season. The 24-year-old Spaniard has played grueling matches against Angelique Kerber and Bianca Andreescu, as well as a nearly four-hour encounter with Camila Giorgi.
Andrey Rublev (5) vs. Kei Nishikori – Nishikori was the bronze medalist in men’s singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He’s 1-0 against Rublev, though no one has won more matches since the start of last year than the Russian.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber – Tsitsipas has lost three of his last four matches, with the first being his heartbreaking loss in the French Open final. But he’s 2-0 against the veteran from Germany, with both victories coming on hard courts.
Aryna Sabalenka (3) vs. Magda Linette – Sabalenka is coming off her first deep run at a Major, losing in the Wimbledon semifinals to Karolina Pliskova 6-4 in the third. Three years ago on a hart court in Tianjin, she defeated Linette 6-1, 6-3.
Karolina Pliskova (5) vs. Alize Cornet – How will Pliskova bounce back from her second loss in a Slam final? She is 3-1 against Cornet, though the Frenchwoman is a tricky opponent, who earned three top 20 wins last month on grass.
Hubert Hurkacz (7) vs. Marton Fucsovics – At Wimbledon, both men achieved their best career results at a Major. Three years ago in Cincinnati, Fucsovics outlasted Hurkacz in a third set tiebreak.
Garbine Muguruza (7) vs. Veronika Kudermetova – Muguruza leads their head-to-head 2-0, with both matches contested on hard courts within the past 18 months.
Karen Khachanov (12) vs. Yoshihito Nishioka – Both players won epic five-setters at Wimbledon out on Court 18. At the 2019 Australian Open, Khachanov claimed their only previous meeting in straight sets.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
