Osaka beats Sakkari in a tough match to reach the second round in Birmingham

Osaka gets past Sakkari in Birmingham

By
Avinash Verma
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Naomi Osaka beat Maria Sakkari in the 1st round of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.

Osaka opened her grass-court campaign with a win against Maria Sakkari 6-1 4-6 6-3 in 1 hour and 59 minutes.

The Match

The first set was a breeze for the world no.1 as she won 7 straight points on Sakkari serve to get the double break and lead 4-1. The top-ranked player got another break in the set to effectively erase any chances of Sakkari making a return in the set. The Japanese won the set 6-1.

Sakkari was more positive in the second set when Osaka missed a backhand, the Greek had her first break to lead 3-2, but the Japanese found a way to break the next service of Sakkari despite some stiff resistance. The Greek again came back strong to get a second consecutive break to lead 4-3. After this she did well to hold her serve and win the set 6-4.

In the 3rd set of the match, Osaka did well to save six break points to maintain a lead of 3-2. After her stubborn stand in the 5th game, the world no.1 broke Sakkari in the next game to lead 4-2. She won 2 of her next service games to win the set 6-3.

After the match the world no.1 commented that she knew that it’s going to be tough against the Greek and she was happy to win the match:

“I was screaming on the inside during that game. I got a bit lucky with one point but relied on my serve overall, I knew she was going to be difficult. I have played her before and it was split 1-1. This was kind of a tie breaker and I am glad to have come through.” 

FINDING HER WAY THROUGH A TOUGH GRILL!
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