.
The Pole won just six points on the return, including one break she scored, but the winner was never in doubt after four breaks that the Japanese claimed, hitting 30 winners and just 16 unforced errors to overpower the opponent completely.
They traded breaks in games three and four before Naomi grabbed another at 2-2, sealing the set with three straight holds at love. Osaka never looked back, controlling the pace with her impressive groundstrokes and marching towards the win with two breaks of serve in set number two, happy with the way she performed after that frustrating loss to Tsurenko in Brisbane when she played well below her abilities.
.
The last years runner-up was a set and a break down before she managed to conquer the second set with a late break, sending the match into a decider where she played much better to avoid an early exit and stay on the title course.
.
The 6th seed Elina Svitolina required just an hour to dismiss Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-2 thanks to five breaks she made, hitting 25 winners and 20 unforced errors to rule the court and send qualifier out in no time at all.
.
<table
0 thoughts on “Australian Open: Halep edges Kanepi. Osaka, Pliskova and Svitolina advance”