Less than a month ago, Caroline Garcia emerged victorious over Naomi Osaka in the first round of the Australian Open. Emma Raducanu suffered a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Anhelina Kalinina in the Qatar Open. Catch exclusive live coverage of over 80 tournaments per year, including the US Open, on Sky Sports Tennis.
Former top-ranked player Naomi Osaka successfully retaliated against Caroline Garcia, who had previously defeated her in the first round of the Australian Open, by securing a straight-sets victory in the opening round of the Qatar Open.
Osaka, who made a swift return to competitive tennis in Melbourne only six months after giving birth, ended a three-match losing streak with a 7-5, 6-4 triumph. Her next opponent will be Petra Martic from Croatia.
Less than a month ago at the Australian Open, Garcia secured a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Osaka and appeared to be on track for another notable win as she broke serve in the fifth game of the first set.
Osaka found herself behind Garcia with a score of 5-3 before staging a comeback against the former world No. 4. She successfully defended seven out of eight break points.
Following this, the four-time Grand Slam champion showcased an impressive performance, winning five consecutive games to clinch the opening set.
In the course of the match, Osaka secured one more break of serve, ultimately sealing the victory in the final game.
Next up, she will be up against Petra Martic, another formidable server, who managed to survive a third-set tiebreaker to overcome Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). Osaka has only faced Martic once before, a decade ago.
Reflecting on her victory, Osaka remarked on the challenging match and expressed feeling inspired by the atmosphere, stating, “It was really tough today, but I also felt really inspired because I haven’t been here in a while, and just to see everyone out here.
I saw a lot of Haitian and Japanese flags. It means a lot to me and it’s really nice to play in front of everyone,” she said on court.