Miami Open. Weird stuff from Naomi Osaka that reaches the 3rd round in Miami with an unusual scoreline against the world no.141 Yanina Wickmayer.
The match
This encounter was rather peculiar. Naomi looked incredibly dialed in from the very beginning to win the 1st set with an emphatic 6-0 scoreline. The Japanese was playing outstanding tennis, and she put incredible pressure on her opponent.
Things started to change in the 2nd set when finally Yanina showed up on the scoreboard when she conquered the opening game. After conceding just 2 points on serve in the 1st set, Osaka started to struggle to hold her games. Eventually, she was broken in the 5th game (2-3), but then she broke back immediately (3-3). The set went to the breaker that the Belgian won at 3.
Naomi demonstrated again that she is a real champion after she regrouped at the beginning of the decider to conquer a 3-0 lead that was decisive to win the match 6-0 6-7 (3) 6-1. Naomi conquered 117 points vs. Yanina’s 94, and the match ended after 2 hours and 9 minutes.
Naomi Osaka vs. Yanina Wickmayer | 2019 Miami Open Highlights
Why Naomi Osaka struggled in the 2nd set
After the match, Naomi explained what happened
“It was really hard for me, I think, emotionally in the second set because I just started thinking about winning, not exactly the things I could do in order to win. So, yeah, I had a bit of a dip. She was also playing really well. I think between the second and third set I tried to breathe and regroup.”
Head to head Naomi Osaka vs. Su-Wei Hsieh
Naomi will face the talented Su-Wei Hsieh in the 3rd round. Thea head to head is 1-0 for Naomi that is the favorite to reach the 4th round.
STRONG WHEN DIALED IN
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