MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Two days, two wins and making it look easy. Naomi Osaka of Japan sure seems like herself again.
The former world No. 1 is through to the third round at the Miami Open, easily handling 13th-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 6-3.
It was every bit as one-sided as the score made it seem, with Osaka winning 89% of first-serve points and 61 of the 100 points played in the match overall.
“It means a lot to me,” said Osaka, unseeded in Miami after falling to No. 77 in the world because she´s missed considerable time to focus on her mental health in recent years.
“She´s the first high-seeded player I´ve beaten this year.”
And when it comes to high-ranked opponents, the drought was even longer.
Kerber is ranked 15th in the world; the last time Osaka defeated a top-15 ranked player was when she topped then-No. 10 Serena Williams in the 2021 Australian Open semi-finals.
Osaka went on to win that tournament and hasn´t been to a final since, but her win over Kerber – who had been 4-1 against Osaka- certainly made her look the part of a Miami contender.
“I went into the match just really wanting to play my game,” said Osaka, who has yet to drop a set in her two matches in Miami; she beat Astra Sharma 6-3, 6-4.
“I still have the memories of all the matches she´s beaten me before. So yeah, I just wanted to play as well as I could. It worked out,” she added according to AP.
Kerber´s loss was part of a tough day for seeded players on the women´s side.
No. 18 Leylah Fernandez, No. 25 Daria Kasatkina and No. 31 Alize Cornet were all defeated, all in straight sets. Fernandez – a U.S. Open finallist last year – lost to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Muchova, who hasn´t played since the US Open nearly seven months ago because of an abdominal injury, will face Osaka for a spot in the round of 16.
“For me, it was a win to play and compete again,” Muchova said.
Cornet lost to Alison Riske of the U.S. 6-2, 6-2 and Kasatkina fell to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 7-6 (5), 6-4.
No. 9 seed Danielle Collins of the U.S. escaped the upset bug, holding off Anna Bondar of Hungary 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. No. 8 seed Ons Jabeur of another winner, getting past Poland´s Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2.
Among the men´s winners was Sebastian Korda of the US, who made the quarter-finals at Miami last year.
He rolled past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-1, 6-1 in a first-round match, getting off the court in just over an hour on a summer-like day in South Florida.
“I´m a Florida boy,” Korda said. “I love the humidity. Heat and humidity, those are my two favourite things. I just play some really good tennis in them.”
