Tennis: Naomi Osaka upset in Birmingham, No. 1 rank on the line

Japan's Naomi Osaka was stunned by Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in just over an hour on Thursday, falling 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.The struggling Osaka now finds her world No. 1 rank in jeopardy, with the possibility of French Open champion Ashleigh Barty becoming the WTA's top-ranked singles player if she wins this grass-court title in the warm-up for Wimbledon.The No. 2 Australian will face five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams of the United States in the quarterfinals on Friday.Osaka, who looked sluggish throughout the match, gave up…READ FULL ARTICLE