Naomi Osaka will face Maria Sakkari in the Miami Open 4th round, already happy for improving her record in South Florida. For some strange reasons, before this year, Naomi has never performed particularly well in Miami as she has never managed to get beyond the 3rd round in 4 appearances.
However, things have changed dramatically this year since the Japanese no.1 is now in the quarters to be also the favorite to conquer the tournament.
Naomi didn’t hide her excitement for her feat to say:
“It feels really exciting. As a kid, I grew up watching players play here. It definitely feels very special. This is one of my favorite tournaments to play, and of course I’m sad I hadn’t been able to get to the second week the last times that I have played this tournament. But I’m here now, and hopefully, it will go well this time.”
Next vs. Sakkari
Naomi Osaka will take on the world no.25 Maria Sakkari in the quarter. Their current record is 3-1 for Osaka.
Previously, the last time when they fought against each other, Naomi Osaka won 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 in the 1st round in Brisbane (Brisbane International) in January 2020.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Osaka in Miami, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked no.2, Osaka has a compiled 12-0 win-loss record in 2021. Naomi is now playing in Miami where she beat Ajla Tomljanovic 7-63 6-4, Nina Stojanovic w/o and Elise Mertens 6-3 6-3.
Osaka clinched 1 title in 2021 at the Australian Open.
Naomi won 7 titles in her career: all of them conquered on hard courts. (See the list of her titles)
Sakkari in Miami, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked no.25, the Greek has managed to achieve a composed 11-5 record in 2021. The Greek is playing at the moment in Miami where she managed to beat Arantxa Rus 6-2 6-3, Liudmila Samsonova 6-0 6-1 and Jessica Pegula 6-4 2-6 7-66.
