Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka continued the trend at Wimbledon as she eased into the third round, while it was the end of the road at the All England Club this year for Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai.
Osaka, who has won two Australian Open titles and two US Open titles but is yet to win Wimbledon, defeated Russia’s Anastasia Gasanova in straight sets.
In the next match, the 37-year-old Zhang fell 6-3, 6-2 to 10th-ranked Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in a match that lasted one hour and nine minutes.
Zhang’s streak continues in the doubles competition, where she has emerged fourth in the women’s doubles with Belgium’s Elise Martens, and third in the mixed doubles with American Christian Harrison.
China’s other remaining player in the women’s singles, Wang Xinyu, will face 11th-ranked Swiss Belinda Bencic later on Wednesday.
Two days after wearing a Kill Bill-Kimono-inspired ahead of her opening match, Japan’s 14th-ranked Osaka turned heads again, wearing a white flower-embellished jacket with a long train trailing behind her.
