Three Years Absence, Osaka Looks Gemilang At The Italian Open

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka. BETWEEN/AFP/Tiziana Fabi/aa.

Naomi Osaka performed brilliantly and marked her return to the Italian Open for the first time since 2021 with a straight set victory over Clara Burel in the first round on Wednesday, May 8, local time.

Former world number one Osaka won against her 45-ranked opponent from France with a score of 7-6 (7/2), 6-1.

Quoted from ANTARA, Thursday, May 9, it was the first win for the 26-year-old against the top 50 in clay since beating Victoria Azarenka at the French Open in 2019.

Osaka, who is now ranked 173 in the world after taking a break from the tour to give birth to her first child, will face 19th seed Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine to fight for a place in the third half.

Kostyuk, the clay field runner-up at Stuttgart last month, lost to Osaka in their only previous meeting, in three sets at the US Open 2020.

Osaka sealed a win in the first half of Rome in 84 minutes, finished with 27 winners, including eight aces, and broke service four times.

"I think the first set is very difficult. I'm very happy to be able to close it in two sets," Osaka said after her second win on the European clay field this season.

"Overall I think mentally I'm trying to stay as strong as I can, so I'm very happy with that."

"I was 5-3 up, serving for the set and I lost (the game). But being able to defend and finally closing it as I wanted was something I was very proud of myself," said the Japanese tennis star.

"I definitely played much better in the second set. I hope when I play my game tomorrow, I want to learn from the mistakes I made today."