Naomi Osaka was the first international to win against her French opponent, ranked 45th, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1.
Naomi Osaka marked her return to the Rome Open for the first time since 2021 with a straight sets victory over Clara Burel in the first round on Wednesday. Osaka was the first international to win against her French opponent, ranked 45th, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1.
It was the 26-year-old’s first win over a top-50 opponent on clay since her win over Victoria Azarenka at the French Open in 2019. Osaka, who is currently ranked 173rd in the world after taking a break from the tour to give birth to her first child, will meet 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine for third place.
Kostyuk, a clay finalist in Stuttgart last month, beat Osaka in their only previous meeting, in three sets at the 2020 US Open. On Wednesday, the Japanese star sealed victory in 84 minutes, finishing with 27 winners, including eight aces, and breaking his serve four times.
“I thought the first set was really tough. I’m happy that I was able to close the score to two,” said Osaka after only his second victory on European clay this spring.
“In general, I think that mentally I tried to stay as strong as possible, so I’m happy with that.”
He added: “I was up 5-3, I was serving for the set and I lost (the match). But just being able to hold it and shut it down in my system is something I’m proud of myself for.
“Obviously I played well in the second round. I hope that when I play my game tomorrow, I will want to learn from the mistakes I made today.
