XPost: miami.general, rec.sport.tennis, alt.animals.gorilla   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: ross@gerberkawasaki.com   
      
   Yesterday, she played the Haitian-American-Japanese rising star,   
   Naomi Osaka, but in a shocking turn of events, Williams lost to   
   the up-and-coming tennis phenom.   
      
   In her first-round defeat, the NY Post describes Williams last   
   shot as her worst. Instead of speaking to the press directly   
   after the match, Williams opted to go straight from the stadium   
   to a car waiting to whisk her away.   
      
   She eventually released a statement which read:   
      
   “Every tournament is an opportunity for me to better understand   
   the areas I need to improve to be my best,” she said.   
      
   “Naomi played a great match and I learn something each time I   
   play. I look forward to continuing my return by progressing   
   every day. I’m so grateful for my fans who continue to support   
   me every step of this incredible journey.”   
      
   Osaka took the win in stride and name the former world champion   
   as her inspiration.   
      
   “I don’t know if you guys know this, but Serena’s my favorite   
   player,” she said to WTA Insider. “She’s the main reason I   
   started playing tennis,” Osaka said following her 6-3 6-2 win. I   
   wanted to impress her, and make her say ‘come on!’ at least one   
   time.”   
      
   Osaka said she felt good after the match, but could barely   
   recall what the two said to one another.   
      
   “I kind of blanked out, but I’m pretty good she said ‘good job,”   
   she told the press. “I just wanted her after the match to know   
   who I am.”   
      
   Williams probably knows more about Osaka than she may think.   
   Last week, the 20-year-old won her first WTA title at Indian   
   Wells.   
      
   The comparisons to a young Serena Williams have already started.   
   In 2001, a then 20-year-old Williams set a trend by beating her   
   opponent Kim Clijsters and now Osaka has done the same to   
   Williams, making them the only two players under age 21 to win   
   titles at Indian Wells.   
      
   Williams, who is currently unseeded (and therefore the cause of   
   conversation about WTA’s maternity leave policies), randomly   
   drew the unseeded 20-year-old Osaka as her opponent. She has had   
   a rocky start since her return. Two weeks ago, she “mercilessly”   
   lost to her big sister Venus Williams at the BNP Paribas   
   Open.space“>   
      
   “I really abhor every time we play, but I do enjoy the battle   
   when I’m out there,” Serena Williams said in a statement   
   following her loss to her sister, Venus. “It’s just afterwards I   
   don’t like it as much.”   
      
   https://thegrio.com/2018/03/22/surprising-upset-naomi-osaka-   
   eliminates-serena-williams-from-miami-open/   
       
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)