American athlete Peyton Stearns defeated former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka in a fierce match at the Italian Open, with a final scoreline of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).
With this victory, Stearns became the first player in the Open Era to win back-to-back matches in Rome through deciding-set tiebreaks. The athlete expressed about her win, “Pretty cool. I feel like before here and Madrid, in third sets, I was coming out on the short end of it. It’s nice to finally be on the flipside, even in these tight tiebreaks. Mentally, it’s just being confident and trusting myself.”
Her success, however, was hard-fought and without any challenges. During the final set of the match, Stearns was seen struggling with cramps, and this has raised concerns about her physical well-being. Despite this, she showed her determination to push through and secure the win.
“I think the tiebreaker, I was just trying not to throw up in the middle of the court. I wasn’t feeling the best, but I dug so deep. I don’t think that I’ve dug that deep in a while. So it was a great match,” Stearns admitted in her post-match interview.
She added, “I think, you know, I couldn’t let the nerves and everything settle because I was so focused on not throwing up.”
The athlete acknowledged how the match took a toll on her physical health and said, “Yeah, I’m very tired right now.”
When asked whether the climate in Rome and the intensity of the match were also a reason for her tiredness, she remarked: “Yeah, I think it was everything. I mean, we were battling like it was a very physical match. There was no point, I think, throughout the match where either one of us really let down, and I think in the first set, you know, I broke her to win the set, and in the second set, she broke me. I mean that doesn’t happen very often, and we maintained that level of high-level tennis throughout the match, and it showed these kinds of matches are where it’s just so taxing on the body. I mean, either players could kill over at any moment. That’s how brutal it was.“
Moments after securing her win, the athlete vomited behind the umpire’s chair, underscoring the physical pain that the battle had caused. But the athlete declared, “You know if I can go through physical taxing things off the court, then I can make it through there, and I’m the kind of player that I won’t quit, you know. You’re going to have to wheel me off the court in order for me to quit. So I’ll keep going.”
Stearns’ resilience and ability to overcome a top athlete and her physical discomfort truly made a significant milestone in her sporting career.
Praise from Osaka
Naomi Osaka had won eight matches in a row on the clay surface this season. However, her impressive run came to a close because of Stearns.
Following her defeat, Osaka recognised her opponent and said, “I think Peyton played very well. It was a physical match, and maybe the consecutive matches caught up to me a bit. Going to rest for a bit and reset for Roland Garros.”
She added, “I feel much more confident on clay. Winning my first clay title and winning some tough matches helps instil some confidence ahead of Roland Garros.”