Naomi Osaka beat France‘s Clara Burel in straight units within the Italian Open first spherical on her first look on the match since 2021.
Former world primary Osaka received 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 in opposition to Burel, who’s ranked forty fifth on this planet.
It was Osaka’s first win in opposition to a top-50 opponent on clay since beating Victoria Azarenka on the French Open in 2019.
The 26-year-old, who gave beginning to her first daughter final 12 months, will face nineteenth seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine within the second spherical on Thursday.
In the meantime, Britain’s Dan Evans must wait to tackle Italy‘s Fabio Fognini within the males’s competitors after his first-round tie on Wednesday was cancelled because of inclement climate in Rome.
Japan‘s Osaka, now ranked at 173 on this planet, completed the 84-minute match with 27 winners, together with eight aces.
“I clearly performed loads higher within the second set,” she mentioned.
“I am hoping that once I play my match tomorrow, I will be taught from the errors that I did at present and apply them higher.”
