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American Amanda Anisimova eliminated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka from the 2022 French Open on Monday in Paris, with a straight-sets victory in the first round. Anisimova, the No. 27 seed, needed just one hour and 30 minutes to win her match 7-5, 6-4 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, totaling five aces, converted four of 10 break points and fired 27 winners in her win over Osaka. The unseeded Osaka totaled four aces, 13 winners and converted two of five break points.
Anisimova said in her on-court interview: “When you see Naomi Osaka in the first round, you don’t think it’s going to be easy. It was a very tough match. I went out there and knew I had to play good tennis, especially because the conditions weren’t easy. I’m just happy to be back here and through the first round.”
Osaka said in her post-match news conference: “I thought I tried really hard. It was unfortunate because I wasn’t able to play as many matches leading into this tournament. There were probably some really bad decisions I made on certain points. Overall, it wasn’t too bad.”
Anisimova will face Croatian Donna Vekic in the second round. Vekic beat Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund in her opener Sunday at Roland Garros. The 2022 French Open runs through June 5, airing daily on NBC, Tennis Channel and Peacock.
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