Osaka Secures First Grass Win, Acknowledges Competitive Field

Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, served 16 aces to defeat Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic with a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory at the Bad Homburg Open on Monday. This marks her initial triumph on grass this season, achieved less than a week before Wimbledon commences.

The 27-year-old Japanese athlete, after experiencing first-round losses in her previous two competitions—the French Open and the Berlin Open—celebrated her first title in May after nearly two years, following a maternity leave.

Osaka, who advanced to the Australian Open’s third round in January before an injury forced her retirement, hasn’t achieved consecutive wins on any surface since the Italian Open in May. She presently holds the 56th position in the global rankings.

“This is my first grass-court victory this year,” Osaka commented. “I’m thrilled about it and excited to participate here again in the next round.”

When questioned about her progress in improving her grass-court performance, she responded, “I’m hopeful. I believe I possess the capability, but the competition is fierce, so I can’t take anything lightly.”

Both players maintained their serve, leading to a first-set tiebreak where Osaka clinched the set on her second opportunity.

In the second set, Osaka gained a 40-0 advantage on her opponent’s serve at 2-2, but she couldn’t secure the first break of the match, as Danilovic held serve with her eighth ace.

However, Naomi Osaka gained a crucial mini-break in the tiebreak when a challenged first serve from Danilovic was ruled out, followed by a double fault from the qualifier.

She capitalized on this narrow edge to secure her place in the round of 16, where she is set to face fifth-seed Emma Navarro.

Russian eighth-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also progressed to the next round effortlessly, securing a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Swiss player Belinda Bencic.

Donna Vekic of Croatia mirrored this dominance with a straightforward 6-3, 6-3 victory over sixth-seed Diana Shnaider, a southpaw player.

Clara Tauson from Denmark had a more challenging path, rallying from a set down to eventually win 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3 against Magdalena Frech of Poland.