Naomi Osaka lost an extremely tough match against Maria Sakkari in the Miami Open 6-0 6-4. According to her own words, that was a defeat similar to the one she had against Coco Gauff at the Australian Open back in 2020.
Naomi Osaka was considered the top favorite to win the Miami Open, and crashing out in a straight-set match scoring just 4 games was very tough to digest for the Japanese number one.
During the press conference that followed the match, Naomi Osaka commented
“It’s similar to what I lost to Coco [Gauff] in Australia, but I think this match is different like I feel I played worse here possibly, but I fought more, so I think I am improving in that way because I feel like even if you’re not playing great, you should still find ways to win.
I’m trying to find ways to do that, so hopefully, I don’t lose like this a couple more times.”
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Schedule
Naomi decided to take a long pause after the Miami Open. She will be back to competitions only for the Madrid Open. In the meantime, Ashleigh Barty will stay as the world number one.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Currently ranked no.2, Naomi played her last match on the 31st of March when she was overcome by world no.25 Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4 in the quarter in Miami (draw).
This year Osaka has a composed 12-1 win-loss record. Osaka clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.
Cori Gauff in 2021
At the moment ranked no.36, Cori played her last match on the 25th of March when she was defeated by world no.57 Anastasija Sevastova 1-6 6-2 6-3 in the 2nd round in Miami (draw).
Currently, during this season Cori owns an overall 11-6 match record. Cori Gauff’s most significant performance of this season was reaching the semifinal in Adelaide.
Naomi Osaka and Cori Gauff faced off just on 2 occasions. The head to head is 1-1. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Cori Gauff won 6-3 6-4 in the 3rd round in Melbourne (Australian Open) in January 2020.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Sakkari in Miami, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently the world no.25, Sakkari owns an overall 12-5 record in 2021. The Greek is playing in Miami where she overcame Arantxa Rus 6-2 6-3, Liudmila Samsonova 6-0 6-1, Jessica Pegula 6-4 2-6 7-66 and Naomi Osaka 6-0 6-4.
Maria Sakkari will take on the world no.9 Bianca Andreescu in the semifinal on Thursday at 8:30 pm on Grandstand. They have never competed against each other as of now in top tournaments.
