WITH AN EASY STRAIGHT SETS WIN OVER ANASTASIA POTAPOVA AT THE MADRID OPEN, NAOMI OSAKA BEGINS CLAY SEASON IN STYLE.
Naomi Osaka is competing in her first clay tournament this season and she has got off to a fine start, beating Russian qualifier Anastasia Potapova to progress to round two. Osaka, who says she has been working hard to improve on clay, has never gone beyond the quarter-final stage in Madrid and that was in 2019 when she lost to Karolina Muchova in three sets.
Naomi Osaka is through to the second round of the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-3 6-1 win over qualifier Anastasia Potapova.
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who is competing in her first clay-court tournament of the season and entered the Madrid Open as a wild card, was fully locked in against her Russian opponent who made 20 unforced errors and struggled on her first serve; she had little trouble dispatching the 21-year-old in 61 minutes.
Osaka will play Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo – who beat Osaka on clay at the Billie Jean Cup in 2020 – next.
“I wouldn’t say it was an easy match,” Osaka, who was all smiles out on court, said after convincingly beating Potapova.
“I would say I just adjusted a little bit but it’s really good to be playing on clay again.
“Honestly I’m trying not to think about the next match. I’m just going to look at the things I did right and improve on that.”
A loose Osaka backhand into the net handed Potapova the first break of the match in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. But Osaka fought back instantly, reeling off four points in a row to get the first set back on serve.
A double fault handed Osaka a break point at 4-3 up and she took it with a strong service return, forcing Potapova to hit into the net to move within a game of the first set.
And Osaka had little trouble serving it out, responding to a double fault by slamming down an ace to take the first set in 32 minutes.
Potapova let out a scream after a backhand into the net gave Osaka a break point in her opening service game in the second set. The Russian recovered, but a blistering backhand winner and another Potapova unforced error put the former world No. 1 in front.
Potapova was having to fight hard to hold her own serve, but she did go a double break down when she hit a forehand long.
Osaka did not look back after that, breaking the Potapova serve for a third time to seal the victory.
