Naomi Osaka loses in Madrid, bows out to Liudmila Samsonova on clay

Naomi Osaka’s clay-court adversity continues as she exits the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open in the second round, losing to Liudmila Samsonova, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

A former world No. 1, Osaka has not won back-to-back matches on clay since 2019, when she lost in the third round of Roland Garros, and after a bright start to her campaign at the Caja Magica, bowed out after a valiant fight against the 15th-seeded Samsonova, who snapped a four-match losing streak in a two hour, 23-minute defeat on Manolo Santana Stadium.

"This victory means everything," Samsonova said on court after the match. "It's my first win after some losses, so I cannot believe right now because I was in a really tough situation today after the second set. So, it's unbelievable to stay here and to have won this match."

The four-time Grand Slam champion has played the best tennis of her career on hard courts, but looked to change the narrative that she cannot compete on slower surfaces in 2024, kicking off her clay-court season a week early at the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole, a WTA 250 in Rouen.

Though she lost there in the first round to Martina Trevisan, the ramped-up preparation appeared to serve her well in Madrid, where she posted a strong win over Greet Minnen and dropped just five games to the Belgian qualifier on Wednesday. Unseeded in Madrid after sitting out the 2023 season to give birth to daughter Shai, Osaka was at the mercy of the draw, which placed her in the same section as Samsonova, whom she beat at the BNP Paribas Open on hard courts last month.

Like Osaka, Samsonova has also posted her best results on hard courts, reaching two WTA 1000 finals in Canada and China last season, but has struggled mightily with her form since reaching the semifinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in February, and had lost her last four matches heading into Madrid.

Still, Samsonova enjoyed a lightening quick start to her encounter with Osaka on Thursday, racing through the first four games as the Japanese star failed to find her range. Though Osaka managed to get on the board, Samsonova was undaunted as she held on to take the set with a service hold at love.

The 25-year-old broke Osaka to open the second set and later edged ahead 4-2, only for Osaka to go on a four-game run of her own and level the match at one set apiece, Samsonova double faulting on a third set point.

"I tried to think positive, even if I had just negative thoughts in my mind," Samsonova revealed. "I tried to take the positives from anywhere, which helped me."

The pair exchanged breaks early in the decider as the match gave way to a tense conclusion: Osaka saved break points in two service games and overcame some frustration to edge within a game of victory.

Samsonova gamely served to stay in the match and turned the tables on Osaka, landing a deft drop shot to engineer another break chance, this time converting off a backhand miss.

After serving on the brink of defeat, it was Samsonova who edged over the finish line, clinching victory behind a pair of big serves.

Up next for the No. 15 seed is Madison Keys, who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in two tiebreakers earlier in the afternoon (Keys leads 2-1).