Naomi Osaka will face Maria Sakkari in the Miami Open quarterfinal strong of a 3-1 head-to-head record against the Greek no.1. However, Osaka is very well aware that playing Sakkari will be a battle since she has always dropped at least 1 set against her in their previous matches.
The last time they played, Naomi won 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 in the 1st round in Brisbane back in 2020. Here the highlights, stats, and interview.
Highlights Naomi Osaka vs. Maria Sakkari Brisbane International – Brisbane
Osaka’s Interview
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
At the end of the match, Osaka scored 96 points vs. Sakkari’s 77.
Osaka
Naomi served exceptionally well to win 76% of the points (47/62) behind her first serve, and she won 56% points (15/27) on her second serve. Naomi blasted 16 aces and she committed 1 double fault. Naomi was pretty focused in converting 80% of the break points that she conquered (4/5).
Sakkari
On the other side, Sakkari was far from perfect in converting her break points (only 33% – 1/3). That was one of the key issues for her loss.
After this match, the head to head between Osaka and Sakkari is 3-1 for Naomi.
Live score progression and stats
The Japanese in this set didn’t concede much to Maria and eventually she won 6-2 after breaking the Greek in the 5th (3-2) and in the 7th (5-2) game.
The Greek was outplayed in the last 5 games of the set when the game count went from 1-2 to 6-2.
Naomi converted 66% of her break points (2/3). She had 3 break points opportunities in the 4th (2-2 0-40 and 15-40) and the 7th game (4-2 15-40). On the other side, Maria was unable to convert any of her 2 break points. She had 2 break points opportunities in the 4th game (2-1 15-40 and 30-40).
They contested 45 points. Naomi was the one to win the set after conquering 13 more points than Sakkari (29-16). Naomi lost 6 points on serve (18-6). On the losing side, the Greek conceded 11 points on serve (10-11).
Nothing could divide these 2 players in this set and therefore the pair went to fight for it in the breaker. Finally, Sakkari won the breaker at 7-4.
Tiebreak
The Greek won 4 minibreaks in the 2nd (1-1), 6th (4-2), 7th (5-2) and 11th (7-4) point. On the other side, the Japanese won 2 minibreaks in the 4th (2-2) and 9th (3-6) point.
This was the tiebreak sequence: 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 7-4
Neither player conceded a single break point during this set. Furthermore, on the other side, Maria didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They contested 79 points. The set was a huge battle since finally Sakkari won just 3 more points than the Japanese (41-38). Maria conceded 9 points on serve (28-9). on the other side of the net, Osaka conceded 13 points on serve (29-13).
didn’t want to give any chance to the opposition at the beginning of the set after breaking Osaka in the 1st game (1-0). Anyhow, the Japanese found the way to come back to break Sakkari in the 4th (2-2) and in the 8th (5-3) game before winning the set (6-3).
The Japanese was spot on in converting all her break points in the 4th (1-2 15-40) and the 8th game (4-3 15-40). On the other side, Maria was clinical in converting the only break point that she conquered in the 1st game (0-0 0-40).
They played 49 points. The Japanese won 11 more points than the Greek (30-19). Naomi surrendered 7 points on serve (16-7). On the other side, the Greek conceded 14 points on serve (12-14).