I have no choice but to win! Naomi Osaka (22 = Nisshin Foods), who is ranked ninth in the world rankings and has won all 4 major tournaments twice, broke the wall. Win 6-3, 6-4 in a row over Annette Contabate (Estonia), who fought at the outpost. She has never given up her service game and entered the top 8 for the first time in two years, and will face Shelby Rogers (USA), who is ranked 93rd in the quarterfinals. In the last four major tournaments, she won all four rounds.

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He broke the victory barrier with the best play, “Perhaps the best game of the year.” It started around 11:00 pm, but “I really like to play during the day because I like the sun and the heat. But I didn’t mind because the night game on center court is special in America.” Instead of losing his service game, he won the quarterfinals at the Western and Southern Open last week with a complete set and a hard play with no juice.

It was a high-level match with a sense of urgency. Last time I had a hard time targeting the second serve, so I did the first serve with a high probability of 71% and deeply controlled the second serve. On the contrary, he pressed the opponent’s second serve with a light blow, saying, “I was not aggressive last time. I want to attack more.” The second set had many chances, but the opponent kept sticking. Unusual for girls, all services are held until the ninth game. However, he broke the opponent’s defense in the 10th game, saying, “Let’s shake the racket.”

The way of fighting has completely changed. The characteristic of this time is a stable game that reduces the number of shots with high risk of hitting hard, and the number of decisive shots is reduced, but also the number of errors is reduced. To that end, he calmly analyzed himself and said, “I thought of many things while resting.” It is the mental aspect of being able to play calmly that guides the game.

Compared to last year across the country, it is easy to understand. Last year, he played a total of 86 games in the first four games, with 107 decisive blows and overall errors. The average of a game was 1,244. This year, there are a total of 92 games in 4 games. The decisive blow is 90 and the average error is 105. The average hits per game was 0.978, which is less than last year, but the number of errors was 1,141.

There are also favorable data. In the past, he participated in the main race of the four big tournaments 16 times. He’s been eliminated for the fourth round on all 14 occasions, except for the two wins in the United States in 2018 and Australia in 2019. In other words, the fourth round is a wall, and if you win there, you only win. “I’m here to win”, showing no pain in the back of the bandaged left thigh. Declared with full confidence.[Tadahiro Yoshimatsu]

◆ WOWOW broadcast scheduled to start at 7:50 am on the 8th. Starting at 12:55 am on the 9th. Both are live WOWOW. Fourth round of men’s and women’s singles, quarterfinals and others. Live broadcast. Live delivery even on WOWOW Members on Demand.