Sawt Falasteen - Osaka blows chance to reach Wimbledon fourth round

Osaka was in a strong position after taking the first set on Court Two, but her bid to finally make the last 16 imploded as Pavlyuchenkova battled back to clinch a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

The 27-year-old is a four-time Grand Slam champion, but she has not won a major since 2021.

Osaka's four previous appearances at Wimbledon ended in two third-round defeats and losses in the first and second round.

Once again she fell short at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Since her triumph at the Australian Open four years ago, she is on a dismal run of 12 successive Grand Slam appearances without reaching the fourth round.

Osaka, 27, gave birth to a daughter in July 2023, returning from a 15-month sabbatical for the start of the 2024 season.

The former world number one, now down to 53rd in the WTA rankings, has always struggled on grass.

Earlier this week, Osaka admitted she had feared playing on the surface for much of her career.

"I don't know, with age fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralysed me in a way," she said.

"Now I'm kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass."

Osaka's wings were clipped by Pavlyuchenkova in a rollercoaster clash.

The Japanese star quickly raced into a 4-1 lead and clinched the first set with an ace.

Pavlyuchenkova levelled the match with a blistering forehand on set point in the second set.

Osaka left the court to compose herself before the final set, but she was broken in the second game and fell 3-0 down.

Faced with elimination, Osaka battled back, winning three consecutive games, only to crumble as Pavlyuchenkova pounced when the pressure mounted.

"I felt like I was behind for the majority of the match, so I played point-by-point. I'm incredibly happy because I was mentally tough in the three matches that I have won," said the Russian.

"I'm usually not so good on grass. The majority of you were cheering for Naomi today but it's OK. As I said, I'm mentally tough."

E.AbuRizq--SF-PST