Emotional Osaka recalls heckling of Williams sisters

LOS ANGELES • Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was reduced to tears by a heckler on Saturday on the way to a 6-0, 6-4 second-round loss to Veronika Kudermetova at Indian Wells.

The Japanese, who has fallen to world No. 78, was rocked early in the first set when someone in the crowd yelled: "Naomi, you suck."

She was unable to convince the chair umpire to take action and at 3-0 down, her emotions spilt over as she wiped away tears while on court and in between games.

Osaka quickly pulled herself together and resumed the match, but even though she raised her game in the second set, she could find no answer for Russia's Kudermetova.

The former world No. 1 put athletes' mental health in the spotlight last year when she revealed she had depression and was forced to withdraw from the French Open and also Wimbledon.

Speaking on court after the match, Osaka held back tears as she said it was not that she found the comment so hurtful, but because it reminded her of Venus and Serena Williams being heckled at Indian Wells in 2001.

Both sisters boycotted the tournament for 14 years after that incident and Serena last year revealed she was still "traumatised".

"To be honest, I feel like I've been heckled before, it didn't really bother me," Osaka said.

"But, like, I've watched a video of Venus and Serena being heckled here. If you've never watched it you should watch it."

The women's field also lost another big name after Belarusian world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, the highest-ranked woman here in the Californian desert, crashed out after her opening match as Italian Jasmine Paolini won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In the men's draw of the prestigious WTA and ATP Masters hard-court event, Rafael Nadal roared back from 5-2 down in the third set to defeat American Sebastian Korda 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3) in the second round to remain unbeaten in 16 matches this year.

After cruising through the first set in 35 minutes, the record 21-time Grand Slam winner struggled to cope with a more aggressive approach from his opponent, who stormed through the second.

Nadal's normally solid serve let him down in the third and he committed his seventh double fault to fall two breaks down in front of a stunned crowd before fighting back to force a tiebreak. The Spaniard then kept his composure to edge out the American.

The 35-year-old later spoke about how his former coach and uncle Toni and other family members had influenced him with a never-say-die attitude.

Nadal said: "The reason why I have been fighting during all my tennis career or I have the right self-control or I have the right attitude and fighting spirit is because I grew up with this kind of education.

"My uncle, my family, never allowed me to break a racket, never allowed me to say bad words or give up on a match... the most important thing was the fact that I grow up with the right values."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS