Naomi Osaka continues to roll at the Miami Open, easily taking down No. 13 seed Angelique Kerber in a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
The one-hour victory is a big one for Osaka, who was 1-4 in career head-to-head matches against Kerber and had lost the past four against the former world No. 1. Kerber is one of two women to defeat the four-time Grand Slam champion four times, alongside Simona Halep.
That jumping backhand 1-2 punch đ„đ„@naomiosaka | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/BEngsi5izG
â wta (@WTA) March 24, 2022
âSheâs like the first high-seeded player Iâve beaten this year,â Osaka said in her on-court interview. âI feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate. My power on the shots was working really well.â
Next up, Osaka will face off against Karolina Muchova, who upset No. 18 Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). The previous two matches between Muchova and Osaka are split down the middle, with Osaka calling her âone of the most athletic players on tour.â
âItâs going to be a really fun match I think,â she added. âI know we both really want to win it.â
Elsewhere, the Miami Open was ripe with upsets as Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu, Anett Kontaveit, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova all lost their Round of 64 matches.
The No. 1 seed in the tournament, Sabalenka was stunned by Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, losing 4-6, 4-6. The match gave Begu her first Top 10 win since 2018.
Sabalenka struggled, making 34 unforced errors to her opponentâs seven, and couldnât find range from the baseline. She also was unable to break Beguâs serve, going 0 for 6 on break points during the match.
Raducanu bowed out in three sets (6-3, 4-6, 5-7), taking the first over Katerina SiniakovĂĄ before dropping the final two sets.
Kontaveit lost to American Ann Li, 0-6, 6-3, 4-6, while Svitolina also took her match against Heather Watson to three sets and a breakpoint, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (9-7). Pliskova managed 10 aces against Anna Kalinskaya but was plagued by nine double faults, losing 3-6, 3-6.
After Thursday, just three seeds in the top half of the draw remain: No. 8 Ons Jabeur, No. 9 Danielle Collins and No. 22 Belinda Bencic