Naomi Osaka. Photo: Channels
Naomi Osaka insists she can still win a fifth Grand Slam title despite seeing another good opportunity pass her by with a Wimbledon quarter-final loss on Tuesday.
The Japanese star lifted the last of her four major trophies at the 2021 Australian Open and raised hopes of ending that five-year wait when she downed world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the last 16 at the All England Club.
But Osaka could not back that performance up, slipping to a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 loss to Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova.
It was her latest disappointing defeat in the latter stages of a Grand Slam tournament, after losing to Amanda Anisimova in last year’s US Open semi-finals.
