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SPORTS Tuesday 24 May 2022
Osaka loses in 1st round of French Open, may skip Wimbledon

By HOWARD FENDRICH toria Azarenka and Bianca
AP Tennis Writer Andrescu. In men’s match-
PARIS (AP) — A year ago, es, 13-time champion Rafa-
Naomi Osaka left the el Nadal won in three sets
French Open of her own and No. 13 seed Taylor Fritz
volition, never beaten on won in five.
the court but determining Defending champion No-
that she needed to pull out vak Djokovic was sched-
before the second round uled to play at night.
to stand up for herself and Merely conducting news
protect her mind. conferences, before the
On Monday, Osaka de- tournament on Friday and
parted Roland Garros after this loss, were a step
against her will via a 7-5, forward for Osaka. She was
6-4 loss in the first round comfortable addressing all
to 20-year-old American sorts of topics, including
Amanda Anisimova, who is her difficulties on clay and
seeded 27th and also won grass courts, the fact that
their contest at the Austra- she is leaning toward skip-
lian Open in January after ping Wimbledon because
taking a painkiller to try to there won’t be ranking
deal with a troublesome points offered there and
left Achilles tendon. She the increased attention to
tried to stretch the tendon Japan’s Naomi Osaka leaves after losing against Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during their first protecting athletes’ well-
by tugging on her neon yel- round match at the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, being even if the strides
low shoes at changeovers Monday, May 23, 2022. Associated Press made over the past 12
or by squatting to flex her months are not necessarily
lower leg between points. previous appearance at last year.” 19-year-old from France enough.
Osaka was unable to sum- the clay-court major tour- Barbora Krejcikova also who is ranked 97th and “I mean, I feel like there is
mon the serving or court nament, when she decided was aware of the wide entered the day with a 1-5 always more to do. You
coverage on which her not to speak to the media spectrum of emotions she career record in Grand can’t progress and then
game is based, in part at all (drawing a $15,000 went through herself at the Slam matches. just stop. You know what
because her practice fine and threat of further French Open from 2021 Krejcikova said she “hit the I’m saying? There always

time and recent match punishment, which prompt- when she was a Grand wall” early in the second has to be evolution,” Osa-
play have been limited. ed her withdrawal), saying Slam singles champion for set and never recovered, ka said.
The four-time Grand Slam that stance was because the first time to 2022when becoming just the third “But I feel like, as of right
champion and former No. of anxiety and depression she joined Osaka in depart- woman in French Open his- now, they are trying their
1-ranked player, who is she hadn’t previously re- ing in the first round. tory to be defeated in her best, and I think it’s really
now ranked No. 38 and vealed. Her openness back Krejcikova was seeded opening match a year af- nice to see.”
was unseeded in Paris, then helped spark a wider No. 2, but she was com- ter winning the title. While Osaka’s best perfor-
double-faulted twice to awareness of, and conver- ing off an injured right el- There weren’t any other mances have come on
end games and called the sation about, the impor- bow that kept her off the such significant results on hard courts, Anisimova’s
outcome “disappointing.” tance of mental health. tour since February, and Day 2, when the women’s best showing at a Slam
Yet she also provided a “I’m really happy with my- her first match back began winners included No. 1 Iga came on the red clay of
measure of the way in self,” Osaka said Monday, with a 4-0 lead before un- Swiatek, the 2020 cham- Roland Garros, where she
which her mindset might “because I know the emo- raveling into a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 pion; and other past major reached the 2019 semifi-
have changed since her tions that I left France (with) exit against Diane Parry, a champs Petra Kvitova, Vic- nals at 17. q

AP source: Commanders buy Va. land for possible stadium site

By STEPHEN WHYNO Maryland and Virginia, the Bowl has long been consid-
AP Sports Writer person said. ered one of the organiza-
The Washington Com- This site is just over 20 miles tion’s goals.
manders have bought land outside D.C., about a Owner Dan Snyder and Co.
in Woodbridge, Virginia, for 45-minute drive from RFK have been looking at sev-
what could be a potential Stadium, which was the eral possible sites in D.C.,
site of the NFL team’s next team’s home from 1961- Maryland and Virginia,
stadium, according to a 1996. The Commanders’ though the specter of inves-
person with knowledge of current lease at FedEx Field tigations into the team’s fi-
the situation. in Landover, Maryland, ex- nances clouded how those
The person spoke to The pires in 2027. jurisdictions might handle
Associated Press on condi- ESPN, which first reported helping him finance a sta-
tion of anonymity Monday the sale, added that the dium. The Maryland House
because the team had not site is the team’s preferred last month approved a
announced the acquisition. choice for a 60,000-seat $400 million plan to devel-
The Commanders paid ap- domed stadium that would op the area around FedEx Dan Snyder, co-owner and co-CEO of the Washington
Commanders, poses for photos during an event to unveil the
proximately $100 million for be available for use year- Field that did not include NFL football team’s new identity, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in
200 acres of land in Prince round and include a prac- money for a new stadium. Landover, Md.
William County and are still tice facility and amphithe- Virginia lawmakers failed to Associated Press
considering other locations ater. Building a stadium pass legislation that would
in the District of Columbia, that could host a Super make it favorable for the Commanders to build their next stadium there.q