THE Tokyo 2020 second round saw plenty of interesting results, as a trio of top 10 seeds fell amongst a wealth of quality talent during the Round of 32.

The three big upsets of the day all involved top 10 seeds, as third ranked Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, sixth seeded Pole Iga Swiatek and 10th seed Czech Petra Kvitova fell to lower ranked opposition in tough results. Despite a shaky start, it was a mid-match run that almost took back momentum for Sabalenka, as the Belarusian fell 6-4 3-6 7-6(3) to Croatian Donna Vekic in two hours and 35 minutes, as Vekic came from 2-4 down to claim the third set and resulting victory.

“It is really good, really satisfying,” Vekic said post-match. “Winning 7-6 in the third set is always great. She’s playing really good tennis this year so I’m sure this win will give me a lot of confidence.”

“I don’t want to think about my chances of a medal. I’ve played two tough, long matches. I’ve come here I would say not 100 per cent prepared. I’m still struggling a little bit with my knee. I’m just taking it one day at a time. I will try to recover and get ready for tomorrow.”

Kvitova was the only competitor from her nation to fall as fellow seeds Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova, as well as unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, all reigned supreme. Kvitova was hungry early but struggled to maintain intensity throughout a tough three-setter against Belgian Alison van Uytvanck, who closed out the victory with a bagel set, 5-7 6-3 6-0. Swiatek, on the other hand, fell in straight sets to a fired up Paula Badosa, who orchestrated a 6-3 7-6(4) result.

“She’s a legend in our sport,” Van Uytvanck said. “She’s an absolute great player and it’s an honour to share the court with her – that’s what I told her at the net. “I think what she has done for women’s tennis is incredible.

“I hope that I can maybe some day achieve the same things she has achieved. I’m proud of myself with what I did on court today and the level I reached.”

While fourth and fifth seeds Elina Monfils and Pliskova were also dealt tough hands, going into a third set apiece against Ajla Tomljanovic and Carla Suarez Navarro, respectively, both competitors managed to avoid an upset.

“The ice bath is waiting for me, definitely,” joked Monfils. “To be fair, I started not bad, 2-0 up, but then everything went downhill for me. I was playing really bad, I was a bit slow and I didn’t feel my game at all.

“Maybe it’s because of yesterday’s match [against Germany’s Laura Siegemund] but in the end I was just trying to find my rhythm, move my feet a bit quicker and adjust. I just had to fight and try to find my game.”

Elsewhere in the draw, seeds reigned supreme as now-top seed Naomi Osaka – following Ash Barty‘s Round 1 elimination – was joined in the third round by Garbine Muguruza, Belinda Bencic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Sakkari and Elena Rybakina. The remaining unseeded winners put out impressive performances to earn their spots in the third round, with another Spaniard in Sara Sorribes Tormo continuing her strong form, joined by Camila Giorgi and Nadia Podoroska after claiming straight sets victories with speedy results.

Expect plenty of intrigue coming into tomorrow’s clashes, with two seeded and one entirely unseeded clashes to take place, as proceedings begin to heat up across the board.

OLYMPICS ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[2] Naomi Osaka (JPN) defeated Viktoria Golubic (SUI) 6-3 6-2
Donna Vekic (CRO) defeated [3] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 6-4 3-6 7-6
[4] Elina Monfils (UKR) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 4-6 6-3 6-4
[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) defeated Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) 6-3 6-7 6-1
Paula Badosa (ESP) defeated [6] Iga Swiatek (POL) 6-3 7-6
[7] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) defeated Wang Qiang (CHN) 6-3 6-0
[8] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) defeated Leylah Fernandez (CAN) 6-2 6-4
[9] Belinda Bencic (SUI) defeated Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2 6-4
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) defeated [10] Petra Kvitova (CZE) 5-7 6-3 6-0
[13] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) 6-1 6-1
[14] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated Nina Stojanovic (SRB) 6-1 6-2
[15] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) defeated Rebecca Peterson (SWE) 6-2 6-3
Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated Fiona Ferro (FRA) 6-1 6-4
Camila Giorgi (ITA) defeated Elena Vesnina (ROC) 6-3 6-1
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU) 6-1 6-2
Nadia Podoroska (ARG) defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova (ROC) 6-1 6-4

Picture credit: Getty Images