Brigid Kosgei is the favourite for the women’s Olympic marathon, but in Donna Vekic the Kenyan world record holder may just have a new challenger.
Having toiled for almost three hours in the searing Tokyo heat to subdue Caroline Garcia in the previous round, Vekic survived another epic contest to upset Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 35 minutes.
The 50th-ranked Croatian, whose giant-killing act comes hard on the heels of Ashleigh Barty’s shock exit to Sara Sorribes Tormo, is fast becoming the marathon woman of the Games.
“It is really good, really satisfying,” said Vekic, who has only once previously won successive matches since undergoing surgery on her right knee in February. “Winning 7-6 in the third set is always great. She’s playing really good tennis this year so I’m sure this win will give me a lot of confidence.
“I don’t want to think about my chances of a medal. I’ve played two tough, long matches. I’ve come here I would say not 100% prepared. I’m still struggling a little bit with my knee. I’m just taking it one day at a time. I will try to recover and get ready for tomorrow.”
Sabalenka’s loss marked the biggest upset on a day of dismay in the women’s draw that also brought defeats for Iga Swiatek, the sixth seed and former French Open champion, and Petra Kvitova, a bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics.
Swiatek, whose father Tomasz competed in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Olympics, was inconsolable following her 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) defeat to Spain’s Paula Badosa. Reared on tales of the Seoul Games, where her father stood in an Olympic Village food queue alongside Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, Swiatek had been desperate to add a senior medal to the gold she won alongside close friend Kaja Juvan at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
But Badosa, who reached her first grand slam quarter-final at the French Open last month, had other ideas, clawing her way back from an early break in both sets to leave the disconsolate Swiatek sobbing into her towel for several minutes after the match had ended.
“It seems to me that 90% of players cry after losing matches,” said Swiatek. “This time it happened to me. We are also human. Competing at the highest level every week is not easy … She put a lot of pressure on me, she was attacking all the time.”
Kvitova’s hopes of a second Olympic medal were undone by Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, the world No 59, who shrugged off the loss of the opening set to claim her first win over a top 10 player since defeating Garbiñe Muguruza at Wimbledon three years ago. Van Uytvanck, who like Vekic is also battling her way back after knee surgery, will renew hostilities with the Spaniard in round three.
“She’s a legend in our sport,” said Van Uytvanck of former Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 10th seed. “She’s an absolute great player and it’s an honour to share the court with her – that’s what I told her at the net. I think what she has done for women’s tennis is incredible. I hope that I can maybe some day achieve the same things she has achieved. I’m proud of myself with what I did on court today and the level I reached.
“After the surgery it has been tough to come back to competition. I lost a couple of matches in a row, then I had the grass season which gave me good confidence. Then to come here and beat Petra is one of the biggest wins I ever had.”
With her rivals dropping like flies, Naomi Osaka continued her serene progress through the women’s draw with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic. Osaka, the second seed, will play Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in round three.
Karolina Pliskova brought Carla Suárez Navarro’s involvement in the women’s singles to an end, although not without a fight. Suárez Navarro, playing in her fourth and final Olympics following her recovery from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, fought back strongly after conceding the first set, establishing a 4-1 lead in the second before finally drawing level on a tiebreak. But Pliskova, the Wimbledon finalist, held firm to secure a 6-3, 6-7 (0-7), 6-1 victory and set up a third-round meeting with Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
In the men’s draw, top seed Novak Djokovic kept his gold medal challenge on track with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, brushed aside India’s Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-1, while Alexander Zverev cruised past Daniel Elahi Galan of Egypt 6-2, 6-2.