Naomi Osaka will play Elise Mertens in the 4th round of the Miami Open for the 4th time in their career. Naomi defeated Elise in their last match on American soil 6-2 7-6(5) in the semifinal in New York (Western&Southern Open).
That match had great significance since it was the famous semifinal that Naomi Osaka initially refused to play protesting in support of the rights of the black community following the unrest of the horrible killing of George Floyd.
After this match, the head to head between Osaka and Mertens is 2-1 for Naomi. Osaka is the favorite to win the match in Miami and that may happen in straight sets.
Here the highlights and the interview.
Highlights Naomi Osaka vs. Elise Mertens Western & Southern Open – New York
Osaka’s Interview
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
At the end of the match, Osaka scored 89 points vs. the Belgian’s 82.
Osaka
The Japanese was sharp when converting 56% of the break points that she conquered (5/9).
Mertens
On the other side, the Belgian had some problems converting her break points (only 14% – 3/21). That was one of the key issues for her defeat.
Live score progression and stats
Osaka overpowered the opposition at the beginning of the set after breaking in the 2nd game (2-0) before consolidating her break and lead 3-0. Anyhow, there was more work to do for Osaka to win the set because Elise managed to break back in the 7th (2-5) game. Osaka maintained her focus to break the Belgian in the 8th (6-2) game.
Osaka failed to serve out the set when leading 5-1 to be broken at 40.
Naomi converted 60% of her break points (3/5). She had 5 break points opportunities in the 2nd (1-0 15-40 and 30-40), the 6th (4-1 30-40) and the 8th game (5-2 15-40 and 30-40). Moreover, on the other side, the Belgian converted 14% of her break points (1/7). She had her opportunities in the 3rd (0-2 15-40, 30-40 and 40-A) and the 7th game (1-5 0-40, 15-40, 30-40 and 40-A).
They played 58 points. Naomi was the one to win the set after conquering 8 more points than Mertens (33-25). Osaka conceded 15 points on serve (20-15). on the other side of the net, the Belgian conceded 13 points on serve (10-13).
Osaka came out strong at the beginning of the set after breaking in the 2nd game (2-0). Nevertheless, the set was not over yet and there was more work to do for the Japanese to win the set because Mertens managed to break back in the 3rd (1-2) and in the 5th (3-2) game. Naomi maintained her focus before winning the set at the tiebreak at 5.
However also Elise won 4 consecutive games from 0-2 to 4-2
Tiebreak
The Japanese won 3 minibreaks in the 10th (5-5), 11th (6-5) and 12th (7-5) point. On the other side, Elise won a minibreak in the 9th (5-4) point.
This was the tiebreak sequence: 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5, 7-5
The Japanese converted 50% of her break points (2/4). She had 4 break points opportunities in the 2nd (1-0 30-40), the 8th (3-4 15-40 and 30-40) and the 12th game (6-5 30-40). Naomi saved 1 set point when she was trailing 4-5. Moreover, on the other side, Elise converted 14% of her break points (2/14). She had her opportunities in the 1st (0-0 15-40, 30-40 and 40-A), the 3rd (0-2 30-40), the 4th (2-2 30-40 and 40-A) and the 9th game (4-4 0-40, 15-40, 30-40, 40-A, 40-A, 40-A, 40-A and 40-A).
They played 113 points. It’s worth to point out that, Naomi won this set even if she scored less points 1 than Mertens (56-57). The Japanese conceded 31 points on serve (38-31). In addition, on the other side, Mertens conceded 18 points on serve (26-18).
