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WTA Tour: Naomi Osaka Beats First Top 20 Opponent On Clay In Italian Open
Osaka defeated World No.20, Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the event on Thursday. Coming a day after her straight-set win over France's Clara Burel, this is the first time Osaka has posted back-to-back wins on clay since 2019.
Osaka, who took a break for the birth of her first child, will face 10th-seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round. It will be the first meeting between the two since the 2018 Indian Wells final, which Osaka won 6-3, 6-2 to capture her first Hologic WTA Tour title. Osaka, who won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 and the US Open in 2016 and 2020, blitzed through the 36-minute opening set with a remarkably clean set of tennis. She struck six winners to eight unforced errors and took advantage of Kostyuk's errors.
