Osaka eases into second round at Melbourne Park

Defending champion Naomi Osaka eased into the second round of the Australian Open with a straight sets 6-3 6-3 win over Colombian Camila Osorio on Monday.

Osaka, now ranked at No. 14 showed no signs of an abdominal injury that saw her withdraw from a warm event last week as she raced into a 5-0 lead in tube opening set before Osorio fought back.

The fightback didn’t last long as Osaka composed herself and regained authority to take out the match.

“I thought I played really well given the circumstances,” Osaka said afterwards.

“I didn’t really have that much information on my opponent and I thought she played amazing.

“She was fighting for every point and I think that’s a really good quality so I’m sure we’ll see her on this court pretty frequently.”

Osaka will play Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska or American Madison Brengle in round two on Wednesday.

Peter Rowe

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