Defending champion Naomi Osaka OUT of US Open after defeat to Swiss star Bencic
Top seed and reigning champion Naomi Osaka was dumped out of the US Open after going down to a straight sets defeat against Swiss star Belinda Bencic in their fourth-round match.
Bencic, seeded 13, edged the first set 7-5 before taking the second 6-4 against the Japanese double Grand Slam winner at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Osaka, playing with strapping on her left knee, called her trainer on mid-way through the second set but did not receive treatment, and went on to suffer an exit at the tournament she won so spectacularly last year in a fractious final against Serena Williams.
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For Bencic, 22, it matches her best-ever Grand Slam performance of reaching the same stage at Flushing Meadows five years ago as a 17-year-old, and sets up a quarterfinal date with Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who battled past Germany’s Julia Gorges in three sets in their fourth-round meeting.
