Naomi Osaka received a solid opening-round matchup in Washington and she is on course to meet Emma Raducanu in a round-of-16 showdown.
Osaka, who is playing in Washington for the first time since 2018, drew world No. 43 Yulia Putintseva in the first round. It is a familiar face for the former world No. 1 since they have already played against each other six times. Each of their first three meetings went the Kazakh’s way, but the former world No. 1 claimed wins in their last three clashes. In their most recent battle – which came in Beijing last fall – the four-time Grand Slam champion earned a 3-6 6-4 6-2 win.
If Osaka beats Putintseva, she could easily meet Emma Raducanu – the 2021 US Open champion plays against Marta Kostyuk in the Washington first round.
How will Osaka look in her first match since a Wimbledon heartbreak?
After storming past her opening two Wimbledon matches with straight-set wins, the Japanese didn’t hide how confident and optimistic she was it would be her first big Grand Slam run in years. But then, the 27-year-old was hit with a cold shower after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova came back from a set down to upset her in the third round.
Needless to say, Osaka was extremely devastated after the exit.
“I’m just gonna be a negative human being today. I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on. It was my daughter’s birthday. I was happy about that this week. Other than that, today, I’m just constantly replaying the match,” the former world No. 1 said in her post-match presser.
There is no doubt that Osaka will hope to deliver a positive display against Putintseva and bounce back from what happened at Wimbledon.
The Japanese had a round-of-16 outing in her first and lone Washington appearance in 2018.