Naomi Osaka beat Caroline Garcia 7-5 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes in the first round at the WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. Osaka saved seven of the eight break points she faced.
Osaka avenged her first-round defeat to Garcia at last January’s Australian Open. The Japanese player was playing in her first Grand Slam tournament since her maternity leave at the end of 2022.
Garcia won her first eleven service points at the start of the match. Osaka saved three break points to hold serve after seven deuces in the third game. Garcia converted her second break point in the fifth game.
Osaka earned two break points when Garcia was serving for the set at 5-4. The Japanese player broke back to draw level to 5-5.
Osaka saved two break point in the 11th game to hold serve for 6-5 before breaking serve at love, winning her fourth consecutive game to close out the first set 7-5 from 3-5 down.
Ossaka earned one more break on her first match point in the 10th game to seal the second set 6-4.
Osaka set up a second round match against Petra Martic, who edged past Aranxta Rux 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-5) in just under 3 hours.
Osaka beat Martic in their first head-to-head match ten years ago in the final qualifying round match at 2014 Stanford.
“It was really tough today, but I also felt really inspired because I have not been here in a while, and just to see everyone out here. I saw a lot a lot of Haitian and Japanese flags. It means a lot to me and it’s really nice to play in front of everyone”, said Osaka.
