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September 1, 2020,
They are fellow compatriots and friends. That is important and beneficial in real life but inconsequential on the women’s professional tennis circuit.
Especially on the largest stage.
Even when there is virtually no one in the stands, people around the world are still watching.
Some standing.
In Japan, very intently.
So when Japan’s Naomi Osaka took center stage, at night, on the largest stage at the US Open to face Misaki Doi of Japan, the expectation was that this should be a routine victory for Naomi.
Surprisingly it didn’t turn out that way.
Ms. Doi set the tone early on that she was not going to go quietly into the night.
She displays lots of acceleration on her shots, generating power from only a 5ft, 3 inch frame and it is enough to take the first game, 1-0.
Misaki admits that Naomi’s power can be overwhelming and Naomi does indeed play that way.
The set is notched at 1-1.
When listening to the press discuss the match, the questions surrounding Naomi’s performance is not related to Misaki, it concerns Naomi’s health since in the previous tournament she had to retire due to a thigh injury. How will that affect her here?
The less time she spends on the court tonight, the better.
Naomi gets an early break.
Though close, and Misaki is hitting some great shots, you don’t get the feeling that Naomi is threatened. The announcers keep speaking of Misaki’s choice of shots. Why is she ranked number 81 in the world when she once was ranked as high as number 30 in 2016?
Her shot selection.
Sometimes she makes some very bad decisions. Naomi takes advantage of that.
The super star and two time Grand Slam winner secures the first set 6-2, in just 31 minutes.
With a little time to relax in between sets, we want to know a little more about Ms. Doi.
A left-handed striker, Misaki uses a two-handed backhand.
Ms. Doi reached two junior Grand Slam doubles finals – at Wimbledon in 2007 with Kurumi Nara, and at the Australian Open in 2008, with Elena Bogdan (losing both). She has made it to three WTA tournament finals (only winning one).
The successful Misaki is managed by Muse Group.
MUSE GROUP is an international sports and entertainment agency. Their mission is to create value for sports and entertainment brands, media and content companies.
Tonight, Misaki is creating great entertainment value.
Misaki began playing tennis at the age of three.
She first distinguished herself in tennis as a middle-school student, reaching the semifinals of the All Japan Middle School Tennis Championships in both 2004 and 2006 and joining the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006. In 2007, while enrolled as a freshman in Sundai Kōei High School, Doi earned second place in the Japan Open Junior Championships in Nagoya.
At the 2016 Australian Open, Misaki played the seventh seed Angelique Kerber in the first round, winning the first set and holding a match point in the second-set tie-break before eventually losing in three sets. How historical was that missed opportunity on match point?
Kerber went on to win the title.
Rising in the rankings, the same year Misaki reached the last 16 of Wimbledon, beating Louisa Chirico, Karolína Plíšková and Anna-Lena Friedsam before losing to Kerber in straight sets. She was the first Japanese player to reach the fourth round of the ladies draw since Ai Sugiyama ten years earlier.
Wait a minute.
We were away a little too long.
Naomi is in trouble. In fact, she has fallen behind in the second set.
Misaki now sprints out to a three love lead as Naomi places a sloppy second game.
Though Naomi seems to have lost concentration, if she holds serve, the pressure shifts back to Doi who is more than likely going to give Naomi some free points.
The announcers are expecting that to happen.
It doesn’t.
Misaki’s confidence is rising. She is playing more solid and pounding winners increasing her lead to 4-1.
At this point, if there was a crowd, they would be murmuring and wondering why is Naomi allowing Misaki to hang around. Oddly enough, the lack of a crowd tends to work in the lower ranked player’s favor because they are less nervous than if thousands of US Open fans were chanting Naomi’s name.
Going up 4-1 is one thing. Winning the set is quite another.
We keep watching Naomi’s movement. Is her hamstring acting up?
Misaki returns to questionable decision making form and allows Naomi win an easy game.
Having said that, Misaki is still up 5-3, but can she close? Is there fear in Doi’s eyes?
The first point of her service game to close the second set out is huge.
What doe s Misaki do?
She dumps a ground stroke into the net. Next comes three forehand errors by Ms. Doi and Naomi is back on serve.
Naomi’s serve improves and she notches it at 5-5.
Will Misaki finally follow script and go quietly back into the night?
Not yet.
Give Misaki credit. She is fighting this one out. She has come too close and craves that second set. A couple of bad misses from Naomi and Misaki holds. She now up 6-5.
Can Naomi take this into a tie breaker where she will more than likely prevail?
Misaki begins to play over her head, which at 5’ 3” is saying something. Naomi’s game has dropped off somewhat. The combination of the two gives Misaki a set point. She’ll need another one. Naomi finally dumps a ball into the net and Doi takes the second set 7-5.
Great for her.
Can she pull off a massive upset?
Not so fast.
She made it interesting but Naomi’s maturity is evident as she pulls it back together and handily wins the final set 6-2.
The social unrest in the United States is on the minds of countries around the globe and Naomi is making sure that it stays to the forefront by wearing the names of unarmed victims recently murdered by American police on her mask.
Her power on a global stage is massive.
Her power on the courts needs to improve and be re-aligned. Tweaked a little, so to speak.
Misaki was a warm up and if Naomi’s legs can hold up injury free, she plans on making a global statement right up and through the US Open finals.
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OPENING PHOTO grapplingstars.com, femcompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, photo- via Boston Globe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misaki_Doi
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
