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Osaka's title defence over in Melbourne
Jan 21, 2022 50 secs

Defending champion Naomi Osaka is out of the Australian Open after American opponent Amanda Anisimova survived two match points before clinching a memorable third-round victory.

The 25-year-old Queenslander is carrying the hopes of a nation desperate to see a home Australian Open champion for the first time since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

Most expected Barty to face Osaka in the last 16 when the draw pitted two of the game's biggest stars in the same section of the draw.

The two-time champion, who also won the 2019 title at Melbourne Park, had also breezed through her opening two matches but faced a different proposition in Anisimova.

The American announced her arrival as a potential star when she reached the 2019 French Open semi-finals aged 17.

Against Osaka, she showed on the biggest stage that she has rediscovered her best form and was able to effectively use her power.

Barty has come up short in each of the past three years, having reached the 2020 semi-finals in-between quarter-final defeats in 2019 and 2021.

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