Naomi Osaka of Japan during the Miami Open tennis event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, U.S., March 24, 2022. /CFP
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka advanced into the third round of the Miami Open after easily beating 13th-seeded Angelique Kerber, while U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu was knocked out of the second round on Thursday.
A dominant Osaka of Japan defeated Kerber of Germany 6-2, 6-3 in a one-sided clash of two former world number ones where Garbine Muguruza of Spain and Simona Halep of Romania withdrew with injuries.
Angelique Kerber (L) of Germany greets Naomi Osaka of Japan during their match at Miami Open in Miami, U.S., March 24, 2022. /CFP
Osaka denied Kerber any chance of fighting her way back into the match as she capitalized on her serve and had total control of her game as she went on to close out the 60-minute encounter on her third match point when her opponent sent a forehand long.
The victory was Osaka's first against Kerber since the 2017 U.S. Open and it also marked Osaka's first win over a top-20 player since last year's Miami Open.
"She's like the first high-seeded player I've beaten this year. I went into the match just really wanting to play my game and I still have memories of all the matches she's beaten me before," Osaka said during her on-court interview.
"I feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate and actually I wanted to come into the net if I needed to ... that's something I'm practicing and hopefully as I keep playing it will get better."
Emma Raducanu of UK in action during the Miami Open in Miami, U.S., March 24, 2022. /CFP
Olympic doubles gold medalist Katarina Siniakova of the Czech Republic needed just under three hours to beat Raducanu, the reigning U.S. Open champion, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Siniakova was nearly reduced to tears while getting worked on during a medical time-out in the first set because of an upper-body injury.
"I think I just felt better as the match was going on," Siniakova said. "I was fighting in the beginning."
Wang Qiang of China celebrates a point during the Miami Open in Miami, U.S., March 24, 2022. /CFP
After defeating American Ashlyn Krueger 4-6, 7-5 and 6-2, China's Wang Qiang will take on Coco Gauff, who was upset by Wang in the first round of the Australian Open in January.
(With input from agencies)