Naomi Osaka said she wanted to play with “the big dogs” and then clinched a notable 6-2 6-4 win over No. 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the Miami Open second round.
After recovering from a set and a break down to qualifier Yulia Starodubtseva in the first round, the former world No. 1 made a much better start to her second-round match, breaking the 24th-seeded Russian twice in the first set to routinely bag the opener.
Through the first seven games of the second set, Osaka led 5-2 but then complicated a bit after missing out on a match point in the eighth game and failing to serve out for the match in the following game. However, the Japanese didn’t allow Samsonova to fully get back into the match after she broke the Russian in the 10th game to get the job done in two sets.
The four-time Grand Slam champion’s serve was on point on Thursday as she hit six aces and won 79 percent of her first serve points.
In the Miami third round, Osaka plays against wildcard Hailey Baptiste.
Osaka could get a shot at a big name if she beats Baptiste
After beating Starodubtseva, the former world No. 1 made it clear she wanted to play against the best. And if she beats Baptiste, she will play next either Jasmine Paolini or Ons Jabeur.
“I want to play with the big dogs so bad, and I just see everyone playing so well, and I want to do the same, but I have to remember it’s a process,” Osaka underlined a few days earlier.
“I can’t speak for all the mothers, but for me in particular it was really hard to come back after pregnancy. I’ve learned a lot of abdomen terms that I’ve never heard of before, so I feel very knowledgeable now. Yeah, I’m just really, really glad to be here and really glad to be healthy. It’s really inspiring to see all the other mothers playing really well.”
Tennis World USA