Surprises keep happening at the Tokyo 2020 Games. This Sunday it was the turn of tennis, as world number one Ashleigh Barty lost to Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round of the Olympic singles tournament.
The Australian was one of the biggest favourites to take gold, having won her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon earlier this month. However, she had to watch helplessly as the world number 48 pulled off a 6-4 6-3 upset victory.
Barty’s performance was simply catastrophic, the nervousness was visible on his face and that translated into the terrible amount of 55 unforced errors. Her opponent only made 14 and that allowed her to break at key moments in both sets.
Sorribes Tormo enjoyed this victory, the most important in her nine-year professional career. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming all my life, being here and, even more, beating a number one,” she said.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I still can’t believe it,” the Spanish player added.
Despite this disappointment, Barty’s mission in Japan is not over yet, as she is still competing in the women’s doubles draw. In fact, she and partner Storm Sanders reached the second round.
On the other hand, Japanese hope Naomi Osaka easily defeated China’s Saisai Zheng 6-1 6-4 to advance to the second round.
