Naomi Osaka The year 2025 started in a big way. The Japanese qualified for the quarterfinals of the Auckland tournament after defeating Julia Grabher this Wednesday by 7-5 and 6-3.
Osaka overcame a swirling breeze and a lengthy rain stoppage to comfortably advance to the second round. Although the wind often affected his ball throwing, Osaka never relinquished her serve and broke Grabher once in each set to advance to the quarterfinals Auckland final for the second time. Osaka also reached the round of 16 in her previous visit to New Zealand, in 2017.
“He was a really difficult opponent for me to play and I felt I had to focus a lot on myself. and try not to be as nervous as I was,” Osaka said after the match.
Osaka showed no further signs of the back injury that ended her 2024 season at the China Open in October. He moved with ease, went to the net rarely but hit effectively and hard, especially from the right side.
Osaka’s first serve was a powerful weapon and she won 80% of the points when she served. The first set was very close, not a single break of serve until the twelfth game.
Osaka returned after the rain delay, which occurred when she was leading 40-15 in the previous game, and seemed to step forward, holding serve and immediately breaking the Austrian to take the first set.
In the second set, he held serve in two of his first three service games and broke Grabher in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Osaka continued to hold serve comfortably and closed out the match on her first match point.
The tournament in Auckland is a tune-up for the Australian Open, which starts on January 12, and lost some of its stars on Tuesday when former US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew with a back injury. Elise Mertens also withdrew from Auckland due to injury, leaving Osaka with a more open draw.
Source: La Verdad
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