Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka suffers 6-2 4-6 7-5 defeat to 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova in Madrid while Coco Gauff does not drop a game; you can watch over 80 tournaments a year, including the US Open, exclusively live on Sky Sports Tennis
Thursday 25 April 2024 23:36, UK
Coco Gauff powered to a double-bagel 6-0 6-0 win over Arantxa Rus in their second-round clash at the Madrid Open.
The 21-year-old US Open champion needed just 51 minutes to see off her opponent, with Rus winning only 18 points across the entire contest.
Gauff's match was scheduled prior to home-favourite Rafael Nadal's tournament opener on Thursday and she joked after her emphatic win: "I know everybody is here to see Rafa, so I was just trying to get off the court for you guys."
Gauff, seeded third in Madrid, will face 31st seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in the next round.
"I played really well today. She's a great, tough opponent, especially on clay, but it was just one of those days for me," Gauff said afterwards. "Oh-and-oh, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again.
"I knew how she was going to play. I know she grinds, puts a lot of balls in court, and likes to play heavy -- but I just felt like those are things that I can do well too. I felt like I could step in more, and having that match against Brenda [Fruhvirtova, Rus' first-round opponent] to scout her kind of helped."
Naomi Osaka suffered a second-round exit to 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova after an epic encounter lasting nearly two and a half hours.
In a first set that was to belie the enthralling encounter to follow, Osaka swiftly fell behind 4-0 on her way to losing the opener 6-2, while she was also broken early in both the second and third sets.
On each occasion the former world No 1 rallied, rattling off four games in a row from 4-3 down in the second to level things up at one set apiece as Samsonova appeared to lose her nerve.
At 4-3 up, Samsonova sent down three double faults to be broken and lose her advantage and then, in her next service game, having saved two set points from 15-40 down, she double-faulted again after Osaka eked out a third.
In a hugely tight third set, Samsonova finally earned the decisive break in the 11th game before this time holding her nerve to serve out the match for a 6-2 4-6 7-5 win over the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Samsonova will next face 18th-seeded American Madison Keys in the third round.
World No 1 Iga Swiatek opened her quest for a first title in the Spanish capital with a clinical display against Wang Xiyu, easing through a 6-1 6-4 victory in the second round.
"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."
The Pole became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.
She will face 27th seed Sorana Cirstea in the third round on Saturday.
In the run-up to the second Grand Slam of 2024 - the French Open at Roland-Garros from May 26 - you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the clay-court season...
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else in 2024, including on its dedicated tennis channel, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, plus full coverage of the US Open exclusively live.
Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches contract-free with a NOW Sports Day or Month Membership.
Fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports App and skysports.com as well as via Sky Sports' social channels.
Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, England Cricket, Tennis and so much more.
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream Sky Sports Tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership. No contract, cancel anytime.
