Tokyo: There were never any questions about Naomi Osaka's potential on the tennis court when she took a two-month mental health break.
Especially on hard courts, the surface being used at the Tokyo Olympics and the surface on which Osaka has won all four of her Grand Slam titles.
The Japanese superstar crushed winners off both wings, forehand and backhand, seemingly at will in a 6-3, 6-2 win over 49th-ranked Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland on Monday to reach the last 16 at the Ariake Tennis Park.
It was similar to the way Osaka overwhelmed Zheng Saisai of China a day earlier and it extended her momentum after carrying out the ultimate honor at the Games' opening ceremony by lighting the Olympic cauldron.
Osaka was asked in March to handle the cauldron honors but said she “didn't feel pressure” about the assignment.
"I felt more excitement," Osaka said. "It was like a sense of duty, like something I wanted to accomplish."
Two more wins and Osaka will be in line for more honours, an Olympic medal.
"Definitely it would mean a lot for me but I know it's a process," Osaka said of her prospects of winning a medal for the host country. "So I'm trying to take it one match at a time. All in all I'm just really happy that I'm here. I haven't been in Tokyo for like a whole year."
This is Osaka's first event since she withdrew from the French Open in May to take a mental health break, revealing that she has dealt with depression. She then sat out Wimbledon.
