Naomi Osaka charged into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open in New York with an emphatic 6-3 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska.
The Japanese player, 22, is taking part in her first event since February but she seems to have quickly shaken off the rustiness in her game.
“This match was really different from my last match,” Osaka said. “She’s a really talented player and I never know what’s going to be a winner, so I needed to keep my emotions in check.”
She continued, “The serve is a really important part of my game and I’ve been trying to tune it up. My percentages on it still weren’t that high today so hopefully as I play more matches it will get better.”
It was important for Osaka to play well today because Yastremska is a dangerous opponent. She strikes the ball hard and can hit winners from anywhere along the baseline. She is also currently being coached by the two-time Grand Slam champion’s former coach, Sascha Bajin.
However, the Ukrainian is also erratic. And the Japanese took full advantage of that characteristic early in the match.
In game three, Yastremska earned two chances to break with some huge hitting. Then she wasted both break points with wild errors. Osaka immediately punished her. She overwhelmed the Ukrainian with the power of her strikes in the next game and broke to move 3-1 ahead.
With the break secured, the Japanese focused on holding serve for the rest of the set. She managed it comfortably and soon wrapped up the set 6-3.
Osaka dominates
At the beginning of the second set, Osaka demonstrated the growing maturity in her tennis. She produced a thrilling exhibition of precise power-hitting to break Yastremska in the first game. Then she saved three break points in style – the first with a winner and the second and third with huge aces – on the way to an important hold.
The Japanese continued to play well throughout the second set. She gave nothing away on her serve and she capitalised on the Ukrainian’s sloppiness to break for a 4-1 lead. Then Osaka broke Yastremska again to seal her place in the last eight.
The World No.10 will play Anett Kontaveit in the quarter-final. The Estonian beat Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-3 earlier in the day and she is in superb form. She reached the final in Palermo a couple of weeks ago and she has won all three of her matches at the Western & Southern Open in straight sets. Considering these results, her match with Osaka has the potential to be very exciting.
Sabalenka crashes out
Elsewhere in New York, Aryna Sabalenka surprisingly lost 6-2 2-6 6-3 to World No.83 Jessica Pegula. The American is not well-known in the tennis world, but she is having one of the best weeks of her career at the Western & Southern Open, and it is clear from her victory today that she should not be underestimated by anyone in the draw.
Pegula’s next opponent will be Elise Mertens. The Belgian ended the run of Karolina Pliskova’s conqueror Veronika Kudermetova with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win. In the other half of the draw, Victoria Azarenka progressed to the last eight when she defeated Alize Cornet 6-4 7-5.
