Naomi Osaka has registered her 50th win in a WTA 1000 event after defeating Australia’s Astra Sharma in straight sets.
Unseeded Osaka, who was the second seed in the tournament just 12 months ago, eased her way to a 6-3, 6-4, victory on the Hard Rock Stadium. Osaka was particularly impressive behind her first serve where she won 93% of points and didn’t face a single break point throughout the match. She broke Sharma once in each set with both of those breakthroughs occurring during the early stages.
“I’m really happy. I consider this (Miami) as my home tournament. This is a tournament I loved coming to (when growing up) once a year. I’m just really happy to be back out here and I get to eat a lot of good Haitian food,” Osaka said during her on-court interview.
In recent months Osaka’s ranking has plummeted which has been linked to her absence from the Tour due to personal reasons. At present she is currently ranked 77th in the world. In her latest match, the four-time Grand Slam winner was able to illustrate her talent with a variety of impressive shots, particularly from the forehand side. Not that it should take anything away from underdog Sharma, who also produced a valiant display and saved a trio of match points in the penultimate game.
Miami is the first event Osaka has played since her tearful exit from Indian Wells where she started to cry during her match following heckling from somebody in the crowd. She later explained that she got emotional because the incident reminded her of a previous situation involving the Williams sisters at the same tournament.
“For me, I just didn’t want to let anything bother me today, no matter what happens,” she stated.
“The last match I played (at Indian Wells) was not the greatest memory for me. I just wanted to prove that I can come back out here and compete. No matter if I won or lost, I had the best attitude that I could.”
Awaiting the 24-year-old is the second round will be Angelique Kerber in what will be a battle of the former Grand Slam champions. Kerber has received a bye in the first round due to being a seed. She trails the German 1-4 in their head-to-head but the last time they played against each other was in the 2018 WTA Finals.
Osaka reached the quarter-finals of the Miami Open last year in what is her best ever run at the tournament to date.
Also through to the second round is 16-year-old wildcard Linda Fruhvirtova who impressively eases her way past Danka Kovinic 6-0, 6-4. The Czech teenager will play Elise Mertens next.
