Naomi Osaka knocks off Clara Burel
in first round at Rome
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[May 09, 2024]
Naomi Osaka made her return to Rome a winning one by sailing
to a 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over Clara Burel in Wednesday's
first-round match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Osaka served eight aces and had a 27-10 advantage in winners while
dispatching the Frenchwoman in 84 minutes.
"Just being able to hang in there and eventually close it on my
terms is something that I'm very proud of myself for," Osaka said.
Former world No. 1 Osaka will play 19th-seeded Marta Kostyuk in the
second round. The Ukrainian had a first-round bye.
Osaka led 5-3 in the first set but some hitting miscues allowed
Burel to force a tiebreaker. Osaka dominated the tiebreaker to claim
the set.
"I was just telling myself, like, my forehand's one of my biggest
weapons, and I shouldn't be too discouraged," Osaka said. "I knew
the shots that I was going for that I missed were good-intentioned.
"I was just telling myself that was probably a result of nerves and
I just have to keep going for my shots and, eventually or hopefully,
they start going in."
With Burel ranked 45th in the world, it marked Osaka's first Top 50
win on clay since beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the second
round of the 2019 French Open.
In other first-round matches on a rainy day in Rome, Bernarda Pera
produced a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory over Caroline Dolehide in an
All-American affair. Pera saved 8 of 9 break points.
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"I started off a little slow but Caroline is a
dangerous opponent and she took the chances early on the match,"
Pera said on Tennis Channel. "I was able to hit more balls in at the
end of the first set and the second set. So I'm really happy with
the performance today and the win."
Pera faces top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland in the second round.
Sofia Kenin advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Italy's Lucia
Bronzetti, while the Czech Republic's Brenda Fruhvirtova outlasted
Taylor Townsend 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine knocked off Donna Vekic of Croatia
6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5), Poland's Magda Linette was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over
China's Zhu Lin, and Russian Anna Blinkova beat France's Diane Parry
6-2, 6-3.
Germany's Tatjana Maria was a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2 winner over Linda
Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic. Russia's Elina Avanesyan rallied
for a 6-7 (3), 6-0, 7-5 victory over Spain's Cristina Bucsa, and
Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of
Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Also, Egypt's Mayar Sherif cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over
Croatia's Petra Martic, and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic
registered a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italy's Nuria Brancaccio.
--Field Level Media
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