(Miami) Naomi Osaka, very convincing on the court, qualified Thursday for the 3and round of the WTA 1000 in Miami, beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3.
Posted at 3:21 p.m.
The Japanese, former world No.1 down to 77and place, will face the Czech Karolina Muchova (74and), who eliminated 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) the Canadian Leylah Fernandez (22and) finalist of the last US Open.
Osaka, who revealed to have “started working with a therapist”, after wiping away a few tears ten days ago in Indian Wells when a spectator shouted “Naomi, you suck”, showed a determination rarely seen on his part in recent months.
Quarter-finalist in Miami last year, she was offensive and solid in the exchanges, setting the pace, without her opponent (15and world) can hope to change the situation.
When she missed a few points, especially her first two match points, Osaka immediately remotivated herself in her substitutions, body language saying a lot about her desire not to let herself be defeated in this match.
Wednesday after her first round victory at the expense of Australian Astra Sharma, she explained that her therapist had “talked to her about strategies and a whole bunch of stuff like deep breathing, resetting the counters when necessary”.
“I’m starting to realize how much all of this can help me. I am very happy to have people around me who encouraged me to go in this direction, ”she said again.