Osaka returned to Italian open :
Osaka returned to Italian open with her first round victory. Naomi Osaka defeated French Clara Burel in consecutive sets at the Italian Open, where she participated in the tournament for the first time since 2021.
Former world number one Osaka wins 7-6 (7-2) 6 – 1 against Burel, ranked 45th in the world.
This was Osaka’s first victory over a top-50 opponent on clay since defeating Victoria Azarenka at the 2019 French Open.
The 26-year-old player, who gave birth to her first daughter last year, will face 19th seed Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the second round on today.
Great Britain’s Dan Evans, meanwhile, will have to wait to face Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the men’s tournament after his first-round match was canceled on Wednesday due to bad weather in Rome.
Japanese Osaka, who ranks 173rd in the world rankings, completed the 84-minute match with 27 wins, including eight aces.
She said. “Of course, I played well in the second set. I hope that when I play my game tomorrow, I can learn from the mistakes I made today and put them into practice.””