Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka kicked off an action-packed Friday in Montreal with a big win over Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 32.
After picking up a straight-set win over Ariana Arseneault in the opening round, Osaka upset No. 13-seeded Liudmila Samsonova on Wednesday, securing herself a spot in the third round.
After beating Ostapenko in their only two previous meetings (2016 French Open, 2024 US Open), Osaka seemed to pick up right where she left off last summer, taking the first set 6-2 in just 30 minutes.
Throughout the match, the unforced errors continued to pile up for Ostapenko, who notably struggled with her serve. Despite two clutch breaks in the second set, Ostapenko was unable to hold serve, instead, conceding a break to lose the second 6-4.
Below you can see some highlights from the match courtesy of the WTA.
With her win, Naomi Osaka now secures a spot in the Round of 16, where she will collide with the winner of today’s Jessica Pegula vs. Anastasija Sevastova match.
Osaka Advances to Round of 16 After Disappointment in Montreal Last Season
With her win on Friday, Naomi Osaka now advances to the Round of 16 in Montreal for the first time in her career.
Last season, following a Round of 64 exit to Emma Navarro at Wimbledon, Osaka came up short against Angelique Kerber just weeks later at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Almost immediately after the Olympics ended, Osaka traveled to Montreal to compete in the National Bank Open, defeating No. 9 seed Ons Jabeur in the first round before then falling to Elise Mertens in the second.
This season, however, things have been different for Osaka. She’s reached the Round of 16 at Masters 1000 events in Miami, Rome, and now Montreal.
Although she came up short to Emma Raducanu last week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Osaka now moves one step closer to securing her second title of the season following an April WTA 125 win at L’Open 35 de Saint Malo.
Additionally, with her win over Ostapenko, Osaka is now up to No. 40 on the WTA Live Rankings.
Previewing Naomi Osaka’s Potential Round of 16 Matchups Following Jelena Ostapenko Win
As previously mentioned, following Friday’s win over Ostapenko, Naomi Osaka now awaits the winner of the upcoming Jessica Pegula-Anastasija Sevastova match.
While Pegula, who enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, entered into Friday’s match against Sevastova as the heavy betting favorite, the two have split wins and losses across their two previous meetings.
Sevastova won their first meeting in 2016 at Indian Wells, while Pegula won their most recent meeting in 2019 on clay.
Currently, Osaka is 1-1 in her career against Pegula, with the former world No. 1 picking up a straight set win in their first meeting back in 2019, and Pegula picking up a straight set win in their most recent meeting in 2021.
On the flip side, Osaka is 3-2 over Sevastova, winning their two most recent meetings at the 2019 Brisbane Open and the 2019 Australian Open.
With Osaka in-form following a hard-fought win over Samsonova, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out for the four-time Grand Slam champ.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post HIGHLIGHTS: Naomi Osaka Defeats Jelena Ostapenko in Montreal appeared first on Heavy Sports.