Australian Open: Osaka has fun but Garcia prevails in first round

Former world No.1 offers enough hope in her Grand Slam comeback to leave fans wanting more

- Aditya Chaturvedi

MUMBAI: You could see it when she berated herself for making unforced errors, when she stood well inside the baseline to pounce on second serves, when she pumped her fist after nailing thunderous winners. Naomi Osaka, playing her first Grand Slam match in 17 months, was as hungry as ever in the first round against Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open on Monday.

And for the 86 minutes that the contest lasted, it felt great. The two-time champion at Melbourne Park was given the primetime slot at the Rod Laver Arena and the crowd was firmly in her corner. They roared when the Japanese star, with that slight head tilt, blasted her famous forehands and dug deep to keep the show going. But it wasn't to be as 16th seed Garcia, one of the cleanest ball-strikers on tour, held her own and closed out a 6-4, 7-6(2) win.