MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — From fashion to friction, Naomi Osaka's first two rounds at the Australian Open couldn't have been more different.
Osaka ended Sorana Cirstea's farewell to the Australian Open in a tense 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win at Margaret Court Arena on Thursday night. Cirstea's parting shot was at the net.
The pair barely exchanged a handshake over the net, with Cirstea glancing in Osaka’s direction briefly and then turning her head away.
As they walked toward the umpire’s chair, Osaka asked: “What was that for?”
Cirstea responded directly to the two-time Australian Open winner, apparently upset with Osaka's efforts to pump herself up during the match.
Osaka turned again and waved to the crowd, and in a later on-court TV interview tried to explain what happened.
“Apparently a lot of ‘C’mons’ that she was angry about but whatever,” Osaka said. “I mean, I tried to play well, I tried my best. She’s a great player — I think this was her last Australian Open so, OK, sorry she was mad about it.”
Osaka got emotional when asked to clarify why the tension heightened, saying, “She could have asked me (to stop).”
The tense finish was in stark contrast to Osaka's grand entrance that went viral two days earlier for her first-round win over Antonia Ruzic.
The No. 16-seeded Osaka didn't make quite the same entrance this time, dispensing with the couture wide-brim hat, veil and parasol but still wearing the jellyfish-inspired dress, a matching warmup jacket in the same blue and green aquatic hues, and a visor.
“Just something fun I like to do on the court. I like to express myself through clothes,” Osaka said of her prematch walk-on designs.
“I’m really glad that you love it,” she added, looking up at two women in the crowd who had replicas of the wide-brim hat and veil that Osaka wore for her walk-on in the previous match. “You guys look really cool by the way.”
Before the start of the night session on Day 5, all spectators were asked to join a moment of silent reflection to remember the 15 people killed in the Bondi terror attack last month. It was a national day of mourning in Australia for the deaths and signs in the main arenas at Mebourne Park highlighted the message, “Light Will Win.”
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