For the second consecutive year, Naomi Osaka and Liudmila Samsonova competed in the second round of a WTA 1000 event during the Sunshine Double. Once again, Osaka, a former World No. 1, emerged victorious in straight sets.

Osaka triumphed over No. 24 seed Samsonova with a score of 6-2, 6-4 at the Miami Open presented by Itaú on Thursday night. Osaka, a finalist at the Miami Open in 2022, resisted a late push from her opponent to conclude the match in 1 hour and 22 minutes, mirroring her victory over Samsonova at Indian Wells the previous year.

Following a first-round defeat at this year’s Indian Wells event, Osaka has regained momentum in Miami. She followed up her come-from-behind victory over Yuliia Starodubtseva with this win against Samsonova. Osaka’s record for 2025 now stands at 8 wins and 3 losses.

Stats Highlights: Throughout most of the match, Osaka maintained consistent serving performance against Samsonova, who is ranked 21st and recently reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells last week.

Osaka secured 79 percent of her first-serve points and precisely three-quarters of her second-serve points in this powerful matchup. She also served six aces, slightly below her season average of 6.5 aces per match.

The four-time Grand Slam champion’s serving statistics could have been even more impressive, but she failed to close out the match at 5-3 in the second set (after having a match point on Samsonova’s serve at 5-2). In that game, Samsonova earned her first break points of the match, and the seeded player broke back with a forehand winner to get back on serve.

However, Osaka was equally effective in her return game (winning 62 percent of points on Samsonova’s second serve). She refocused and broke serve to secure the match.

Wild card awaits: Osaka’s next opponent will be wild card Hailey Baptiste from the United States. Earlier on Thursday, Baptiste, ranked No. 98, achieved her third career victory against a Top 20 player by upsetting No. 12 seed Daria Kasatkina in a thrilling 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 match.

Osaka and Baptiste previously met in the first week of this year in the Auckland quarterfinals. In that encounter, Osaka prevailed 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2, on her way to becoming runner-up to Clara Tauson in New Zealand.

Collins begins title defense: Danielle Collins, the No. 14 seed and defending champion of Miami, having won her first WTA 1000 title here last year, also progressed to the third round after winning her night match.

Collins defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 7-6(3) in Thursday’s concluding match on the stadium court. Collins now has a perfect 3-0 record against Cirstea after her 1-hour and 40-minute victory.

Collins, a Florida resident, has frequently achieved strong results in Miami, including a semifinal appearance in 2018 and a quarterfinal run in 2022, in addition to her 2024 title. By defeating Cirstea, Collins improved her Miami main-draw record to 19-5.

Collins’s next match in her title defense will be her first encounter with qualifier Rebeka Masarova from Switzerland. Earlier on Thursday, Masarova upset Donna Vekic 6-1, 6-3 to secure her third career Top 20 win.