MADRID — Naomi Osaka’s clay-court season started with a loss in the first round of the Madrid Open against Lucia Bronzetti on Tuesday.
Japan’s four-time Grand Slam champion stumbled on match point as Bronzetti completed a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win before checking whether Osaka was OK as they approached the net for a postmatch handshake.
The 55th-ranked Osaka was unseeded in Madrid for her first match in almost a month since reaching the fourth round of the Miami Open. Italy’s Bronzetti will play fifth-seeded American Madison Keys in the second round.
Alexandra Eala will get a rematch with Iga Swiatek in the second round in Madrid after stunning the Polish player as a wild card in Miami last month. The 19-year-old Eala won her first-round match 6-3, 6-2 against Viktoriya Tomova.
Caroline Dolehide of the U.S. won 6-4, 6-4 against Elina Avanesyan to set up a second-round meeting with Liudmila Samsonova.
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