Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said the prospect of celebrating her daughter’s birthday at Wimbledon gave her extra motivation as the 14th seed powered into the women’s singles third round with a clinical 6-3 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova in just 67 minutes on Wednesday.
Osaka, who reached the Wimbledon third round for the fourth time, dominated with her powerful returning and authoritative serving to overwhelm Gasanova in 67 minutes.
The Japanese made an immediate impact with her backhand returns, putting Gasanova under pressure in the opening game. The Russian fell 15-40 behind before a forehand error handed Osaka the early break. Osaka then breezed through her own service game at love for a commanding 3-0 lead.
Gasanova came close to getting on the board in the fourth game but squandered game point with a double fault at 40-30. She eventually held after Osaka’s return found the net.
Osaka remained solid behind her serve, backing it up with clean ball-striking, although her aggressive approach also produced a few unforced errors.
The Russian gradually settled into the contest, cutting down on mistakes and improving her returns to deny Osaka easy points. She produced an impressive hold in the eighth game, but Osaka served out the opening set with her sixth ace.
Gasanova saved a break point in the third game of the second set with a stunning forehand winner down the line before holding serve, but Osaka continued to look comfortable on her own delivery.
Playing her fourth match of the tournament, Gasanova appeared to be struggling physically, repeatedly touching her abdomen and showing signs of fatigue. A return error at the second deuce handed Osaka a break point, which the Japanese converted with an overhead smash.
Osaka soon earned a second break to move 5-2 ahead before comfortably serving out the match. The former world No. 1 revealed afterwards that her daughter’s birthday on Thursday had been on her mind before the match.
“Tomorrow’s my daughter’s birthday, so I just wanted to be here for longer. I didn’t want to make her get on a plane on her birthday. So I was really happy about today,” Osaka said.
Asked about her plans for the day off, she said, “Obviously, I have to practice in the morning, but maybe after, go around the park and stuff. She loves making friends. So yeah, I’ll probably do that.”
Osaka also explained the inspiration behind her eye-catching courtside outfit.
“It’s supposed to be an obi, which is part of the Japanese traditional kimono. And I just wore it with my Nike bomber jacket, which I thought was really cool, and I wasn’t able to wear that the first day. So I’m just trying to mix it up a little bit,” she said.
Osaka will next face either Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen or Australia’s Daria Kasatkina for a place in the fourth round.
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