Serena Williams, Osaka crash out of Italian Open

ROME: Serena Williams, playing the 1000th WTA match of her career, lost on her return after nearly three months away to Nadia Podoroska in the second round of the WTA Italian Open on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old eighth seed fell 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 in under just two hours to the 44th-ranked Argentine, a surprise semi-finalist at last year's Roland Garros.

Williams, a four-time Rome winner and 23-time Grand Slam champion, had not played since her semi-final defeat in the Australian Open this year.

The early exit is a blow three weeks before the French Open in Paris on May 30 where the American continues her bid to equal Australia's Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam trophies.

Despite a battling performance Williams could not wear down the 24-year-old Argentine who broke the American twice in the first set.

Podoroska forced a tie-break with an ace and squandered three set points before sealing the set.

In the second, Williams was trailing 5-2 but held and broke the Argentine to love while she served for the match to level at 5-5.

Podoroska held her nerve to earn three match points to secure just her third career win over a top-10 player, all in the last eight months.

For Williams it was her 149th defeat, with 851 wins over the course of a WTA career covering 1000 matches.

But she will not get to celebrate with the Rome public, with spectators only allowed from Thursday's third round at the Foro Italico while limited to a 25 percent capacity.

Podoroska next meets Croatia's Petra Martic, who earlier beat France's Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-3.

Japan's Naomi Osaka crashed out of after a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 second-round defeat to American Jessica Pegula in the clay-court warm-up ahead of Roland Garros.

The four-time Grand Slam winner, seeded second in the Italian capital, had received a first-round bye, but was unable to find her way back into the match after losing the first-set tie-break to her 31st-ranked opponent.

Osaka was playing just her third tournament since winning the Australian Open in February and also exited in the second round in Madrid earlier this month.

Osaka, the reigning US Open champion, has seven career hard-court titles, but has never managed to lift a clay-court trophy.

Pegula, 27, who reached the Australian Open quarter-finals, will next play 33rd-ranked Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova who got walk over against American 13th seed Jennifer Brady.

The 5th seed Elina Svitolina beat Amanda Anisimova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Coco Gauff beat MariaSakkari 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.

The 5th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas thrashed Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2 while Dominic Thiem beat Márton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-7, 6-0 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, less than 48 hours after losing a tough Madrid Open final against Alexander Zverev, Italy's world No. 9 Matteo Berrettini was stretched by Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Berrettini, who recorded his ninth win in his last 10 matches, will take on Australia's John Millman, who defeated Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4, in the second round.

Italian Lorenzo Sonego came through another tough battle against No. 14 seed Gael Monfils of France, winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes.

Bautista Agut posted a 6-3, 6-4 win over American qualifier Tommy Paul in one hour and 31 minutes. Agencies

Also Read: Still looking for No 24, Serena Williams set for clay swing

Also Watch: Sick Mentality: Wife Molested While Husband Begged for Covid Treatment, Onlookers Did Nothing