Brisbane: Naomi Osaka wins first match as mom, to meet former world No. 1 next

Naomi Osaka has made a winning return to tennis as the former world No. 1 defeated Tamara Korpatsch in her Brisbane International opener. In her first match as a mom, Osaka claimed a 6-3 7-6 (9) win over world No. 83 Korpatsch. 

Going into the match, many were curious to see how would Osaka look in her return. And in her first match since 2022 September, Osaka showed that she still has it with her performance against Korpatsch. 

Now, Osaka is set to take on former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova, who is seeded at No. 16, had a first-round bye in Brisbane.

Naomi Osaka© Getty Images Sport – Chris Hyde

How Osaka beat Korpatsch?

Osaka got off to a great start to the match, breaking Korpatsch in the very first game of the match. In the seventh game, Osaka had a break point to go up by a double break – but didn’t convert. Korpatsch maybe avoided going down by a double break in the seventh game but Osaka broke Korpatsch again in the ninth game, when the German was serving to stay in the first set. 

After winning the first set, Osaka got broken in the first game of the second set. However, Korpatsch’s lead was short-lived as Osaka broke back immediately in the second game.

The next break was seen in the eight game, when Osaka broke Korpatsch for a 5-3 lead. A bit surprisingly, Osaka failed to serve out for the match in the ninth game as Korpatsch managed to get the break back. 

As no more breaks were seen, the set went into a tie-break. In the tie-break, Osaka missed out on match points at 6-5 and 7-6. Then, Korpatsch failed to convert any of her two set points at 8-7 and 9-8. After saving Korpatsch’s two set points, Osaka earned her third match point at 10-9.

Naomi Osaka© Getty Images Sport – Chris Hyde

When Osaka meets Pliskova in her next match, she will be playing against the Czech for the sixth time. Going into their Brisbane meeting, Pliskova has a 3-2 head-to-head against Osaka.